boys own paper may 24, 1913
TRANSCRIPT
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 1/16
N O . 3 4, V O L U M E X X X V . ] S A T U R D A Y , M A Y 2 4 , 1913. P r i c e O n e P e n n y .[ALL R I G H T S R E S E R V E D . J
' T o a n d f r o t h e y s t r u g g l e d , t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e c r e w s t a n d i n g r o u n d in a s t o n i s h m e n t . "
(See next instalment, p . 5 5 7 . )
rnHK setting su n turned th e distant
hills to purpl e and gol d and a welc ome
breeze stirred the parched tree tops as Bo b
Burt on rode s lowly along the home trail.
He was feeling very well pleased with him
self, for he had that da y attended th e trial
of the bushrangers wh o held up the Big
Snake go ld wagg on, and the jud ge had
complimented him upon the smartness of
hi s capture.
He reached the barracks and went at
o n c e to the Chief's ro om . In the rack was
a not e addressed to him . He unlo cked the
case and to ok it out. The Chief had be en
called aw ay and had loft instruct ions.
B o b was to remain in charge of the stationunt i l his return.
B y this time Bob knew the routine of
his dutie s, and for som e day s the wo rk went
smooth ly on .
The troopers were good fellows and they
gave no trouble to their young corporal.
The blacks of the district, how ever , had been
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 2/16
530 The "Boy's Obvn Paper.
gett ing troublesome of late and complaints
came in with alarming rapidity. The men
were kept continually on the m o v e an d
their ordina ry patrols had to be aban done d.
B o b hims elf spen t hours each da y in th e
saddle making the rounds that lay near
headquarters. He had established a system
of points where one of the native troopers
c o u l d find him in case of eme rge ncy .
H e wa s compel led to leave the office inthe charge of an ex-a rmy man wh o acted
as caretaker to the barracks. Jim my
Muldoon was quite a character in his way.
H e was general fact otum and had quite
a squad of blacks under his charge and,
although the Chief remonstrated with him,
he used to drill them int o som eth ing like
mili tary discipline.
It so happe ned that one evening, when
B o b wa s going the round s and was abo ut to
call at the last run before turning home
ward, one of Mul doo n's squad, as they were
called, cam e loping along the trail . The
fe l low had d one the fifteen miles in record
time and as he halted
he pulled a note f rom
his belt and h and ed it
to Bo b. It was ad
dressed in the Chief's
handwrit ing, and
Burton quickly tore
the envel ope open and
read the contents.
' ' Bring every avail
able man to Hobs on's
R u n . Full marching
order and plen ty of
ammuni t ion. L o c k
up the off ice ."
B o b whistled. He
c o u l d guess what it
meant. The Chief had
ridden out to Hobson's
Run a fortnight before
t o gather news of abi g gang of bush
r a n g e r s that were
reported to be forming
in the hills. Fo r a
mo me n t he was at a
loss . There were no
t r o o p e r s at the
barracks. I t was true
that th e Chief had
half a dozen men with
him, but the rest were
scattered.
" Here, Sa mm y, catc h hold of my s t i r rup
and step out ," he cried. The black sprang
t o his side and they were soon heading
fo r th e nearest homes tead. Here Bo b re
quisitioned a dozen blacks and sent them off
at o n c e with a few words in cip her to the
places where he knew the troopers were
staying. Then he turned to Mr. Gibson.
" Can you let me have a couple of horses ? "
he asked.
" Certainly, corpora l ," replied the squat te r
as he led the wa y to the stables. " Here
y o u are, t ake your p i ck . "
With in half an hou r Bo b and the b lack
were in the saddle riding hard to the barracks.
T h e y arrived there at dusk and Bo b shouted
fo r Muldoon.
" Here, Ji mmy , has anythi ng further
c o m e in ? No ? The n let's hav e supp er as
s o o n as possible. I ' m thinking there'l l
be som e use for you r black squad no w, so
parade 'em to-morrow at d awn. "
A t intervals through the night the troopersrode in and b y sun- up a doz en had muste red.
B o b called M u l d o o n aside.
" See here, Ji mm y, it 's against t he re
gulations, but y o u ' v e got to wink at them
sometimes . Just l o o k after the office
while we're awa y. There are a few old
carbines you can g i v e the bla cks , and there'll
be one or two native troopers coming in
presently. Ke ep 'em together. Fro m what
I can make out there 's big work ahead and
these 'rangers might give us the slip and
c o m e alo ng here. It would just be fun
fo r th em to ride in and bai l up the
barracks during our absence."
M u l d o o n saluted. " Righ t, corpo ral ,"
he grinned, " yo u can bet yo ur boots that
if a n y b o d y c o m e s round here loo king fortrouble me and the boys ' l l give 'im a g o o d
recep t ion ."
B o b laughed, and then lie and the troop ers
swung into their saddles and rode off to the
hills.
H o b s o n ' s Ru n lay abou t forty miles north
east of Charville, and the y mad e good t ime.
B y te n o ' c l o c k they rode into the padd ock
and found the Chief awaiting them. He
called B o b in while the troop ers wat ered
the horses.
" L o o k here, Burt on ," lie said, as the y
were seated, " w e ' v e got a tough jo b on.
I 've found out that there 's a gang forming
W A R S H I P S OF OLDEN DAYS.
M o d e l o f H . M . S . " B r i s t o l " ( 1 7 th C e n t u r y ) .
(Royal Kaval College, Greenwich,)
T h e " Bris tol , " of 50 guns and G70 tonna ge, was built at Por tsm out h Doc kya rd in 165 3 and
reb u i l t at Dep t f ord in 169 3 . S h e was d es ign ed by Mas t er S h ip wr igh t T ip p e t t s , an d h ad
a co mpl em ent of 240 men . Th e " Bristol " was ca ptured and sunk bv the French on A p r i l
2 5 , 1 7 0 9 .
up yon der . I t 's Big Barnes. He's only just
finished a lo ng ter m of im pr iso nm en t and
n o w he 's taken to the hills. Ther e have
been about th i r ty horses stolen in the neigh
bourhood within the last three months .
That means that at least fifteen men are
there. I 'm rather inclin ed to think he has
more than t h i r ty . At any rate I ' m going
to smash him b efore he can form an organised
ban d. If we o n c e let him get well in han d
there'l l be no holding him. By the way, ho w
di d you leave the office ? "
B o b told him.
" G o o d ! " repli ed the Chief. " W e l l , I ' l l
send Hend y and Sims back to-m orro w.
W e ' v e go t fifteen me n, and the squat te rs
ar e going to lend me so me of their s t ockmen .
I think I can get th i r ty men together.
Meanwhile , I want you to do a bit of scouting.
Tak e anyb od y you l ike and see what y ou
can find out."
That evening Bo b set out f rom the farm
accompanied by two blacks who wereemployed as cattle men. Very caut iously
he made his way to the hills and encamped
in the heart of a dense grove of acacias.
iBefore sunrise he was up and wormed his
w ay to the summ it of a lo f ty crag. There
bene ath him in the early da wn stret ched
a desolate valley, overgro wn with the thi ckly
growing brig alow scru b. Thr oug h his glass es
he c o u l d see, a mile or so away, a large camp
with a mob of horses bunched together on
the edge of the clearing. Th e ca mp was in a
slight depression, so that unless one was
at a great hei ght it was poss ible to pass
within a quarter of a mile of the place
without locating i t .
B o b laughed as he noted these facts and
ca lmly sket che d a plan of the valley. Witha sharp command to one of the blacks he
hand ed the sket ch and a not e to him. The
black t o o k the pac kag e and silently dis
appeared into the w o o d s .
" No w, my son," said Bob to the remain
ing boy , " just step lively. W e ' l l pay these
fellows a visit."
With great difficulty they lowered them
selves to the valley b e l o w and stole cautiously
through the scrub. All that day they hid
up in the dense unde rgro wth ab out three
hundred yards from the outlaws' camp, and
at sunset Bo b disp atch ed the remaining
black to guide the Chief an d Ii is troopers to
the ca mp . All un
conscious of danger,
Big Barnes and his
gang took their ease,
and as the m o o n rose
B o b became anxious,
until a warnin g " sh "
sounded by his side
a n d h i s messenger
crouched beside him.
" H i m boss , 'e say
all right, 'nd send
blackfellow all along,"
the boy whispered.
" Whe re ? " asked
B o b .
" H i m blackfellow.
he wait all 'long back
o b t rees."
B o b nodded, and
softly they crept towhere some half-dozen
blacks were crouching
in readiness. Bo b lay
down with them and
gave them minute
i nst r uc t ions. T h e y
were cattle men on
H o b s o n ' s farm and
were not far inferior
t o the white stockmen
in their horsemanship.
Making sure that they
under stood his instructions Bo b worked his
w ay rou nd to the south of the ca mp to a
small gully where the Chief and his troopers
lay concealed.
" It ' s all right, sir, " he whispered as he
crouched d o w n with them. "T h e blacks
ca n be depended upon."
" G o o d , " mutt ered the Chief. " Wh at do
y o u suggest ? ' '
" I f we get a b it nearer and then rush them
we shall s t and a g o o d chance."
Cautiously they crept forward and the
t roopers extended outwards until the camp
wa s surr ound ed. In the centre the bush
rang ers la y ro un d the fire while on e of their
numb er no dde d drowsily on sentry go.
Then the Chief gav e the signal and B ob
sent a loud " Coo-oo-e e " ringing across the
silent bush . Wi th a shout Big Barnes sprang
t o his feet and blaz ed aw ay in to the darkne ss.
" Ha nd s up ! " yelled the troop ers from al l
sides, but by th is time the bushrangers were
on their feet ." T o the h orses ! " ye lled Barnes.
Before they c o u l d reach the a nimals,
however, the wait ing blacks had m ounted .
Cutt ing the te thers they galloped through
the ca mp , sendin g the out laws flying by the
suddenness of the ir charge. 'Then they
wheeled and tore ba ck, and, handling the
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 3/16
The Schooner's Male. 531
m ob of horses as only the stockmen can, they
disappeared into the scrub.
Then the troope rs dashed for ward and a
withering volley la id many of the desperadoes
l o w . Barnes seemed to bear a cha rmed
life. There he s tood towering amon g his
followers, keeping up an incessant fire from
his revolvers , and then, when all was hopel ess,
he turned and with a defiant yell plunged
into the woods .
Th e remaining outlaws poured in a final
volley a n d then gave in. Durin g the last
rush the chief of the police had fallen,
shot thro ugh the shoulder . At once B o b
was beside him.
"I t ' s a ll r ight, Bur ton, " he gasped.
" Fol low Barnes. Here, take these," and
he thrust a bundl e of note s int o B o b ' s
hands. "Br ing him back, dead or alive.
Th e boys will rope in these fellows an d
col lect the horses in the m or ni ng. "
" But you , sir, what will yo u do ? " a sked
B o b anxiously.
" I shall be all right. It's noth ing serious,
only get the scoundrel."
Still Bo b would have s tayed, but the Chief
became quite angry.
" G e t Ba rn es !" he ordered sharply, and
reluctantly Bob turned and p lunged in to
th e woods.
As B o b followed hard upo n the outlaw 's
trail his tho ught s were upon the difficul ty
of his task. He saw at once t ha t it would be
a tough jo b. It is one thing to follow a man
throu gh the bush when one is well m oun te d
and provisioned, but to trail a man on foot
is a serious business. As luc k wo uld hav e it,
he met with the blacks who had succeeded
in rounding up the horses and were waiting
fo r the dawn. Wh en he cam e up with
them they were all ta lking excit edly . He
rapped out a quick comm and and one fellow
to ld their s tory . The chief of the bushran gers
had but a few minut es be fore dashe d amo ngst
th em and , seizing a horse, had ridd en off
bare backe d with only a halter to contro l
the animal.
Wi th out a wor d Bo b selected one of the
horses and sent a bla ck ba ck to the cap tur ed
c a m p with orders to bring a saddle and
bridle. B y morn ing the fellow arr ived and
Bur ton saddle d up. Bid din g the blac k to
a c c o m p a n y him, he rod e off upo n Barnes 's
trail.It was eas y to see that the fugitive had
r idden hard, and as they got farther and
farther into the bush the s igns became
clearer , and with set lips Bo b deter mined to
fo l low to the last gasp . B y noon they
struck a l ow range of hills and cautio usly
ma d e their way to the summ it. Here they
part ook of a hasty meal, for Bob wou ld
al low no fire to bo lighted.
F o r three da3~s he hun g u po n the trail, but
trj* as he might he cou ld not c o me up with
his quarry. At last he struck the Darlin g
D o w n s and foun d himself within the pr ecincts
of civilisati on. On the morni ng of the fourth
da y he rode into the house of a large sheep
run.
" Wel l , Corpora l ! " c r ied the owner ,
" you ' r e jus t c o me hand y. W e had a vis it
f rom a sundowner last night. He' s lif ted
a horse, but he left a broken-down sorrel
in exchange ."
" I ' m after hi m, I th ink ," r ep l ied Bob,
" but I 'm just about don e. I ' ve been
on hi s trail for the last three d a y s , " a n d
he told the squatter of the fight at the
c a m p .
" Wh at will yo u do ? "
" Can you lend me a suit of clothes ? "
" W h y ? "
" Wel l , I ' l l never get m y man in these
things. He 'd spot me at o n c e . "
" I see the wh eez e. Yo u ' l l try and c atch
hi m n a p p in g . "
" That 's it ," replied Bo b. " I ' l l just take
(To be concluded next week.)
m y paper s. Bi g Bar nes is a to ugh an d I 'll
p r o b a b l y want help, so if you' l l lend me
a st ock man 's rig out an d a fresh hor se I 'll
l eave m y things here with the black and
ge t on his tr ack. "
Wit hin a couple of hours Burt on was in
the sadd le. He had an idea that Barnes
would mak e for the co ast and he rode straight
on .
As he rode into T o o w o o m b a he kep t hiseyes ope n. He had never been there before,
but he soon found his way through the tow n.
He dismounted and t o o k his horse to a
hotel. Aski ng to see the propr ieto r he
left the horse in his char ge and hur ried to
the stati on. H e was jus t in ti me, for a
train was then leaving for Bris bane. As he
j u mp e d aboa rd the engine shrieked, and-
with a roar th ey pic ked up speed and were
soon rushing for the coast .
Ar r i v e d at the terminus B o b craned his
neck out of the w i n d o w. Eagerly he scanned
the c r o wd of alighting passengers , but nowhere
cou ld he see his quar ry. Th en a tho ugh t
stru ck h im and he dart ed to the oth er side
of the carria ge. He was just in ti me to see
the figure of a big ma n sneaki ng off amid st
the s tanding trucks. As he made to follow
another train cam e in and drew up snorting
before him, and he returned baffled to the
p la tform.
T h e y were r ight close to the docks and
B o b lost no tim e. He quick ly fou nd the
police station and at once saw the super
intende nt. He show ed his ident ity paper
and exp lain ed the facts of the case.
" The n yo u' d best s leep here," cr ied the
officer. " W e ' l l send a descr iption of your
man round and if he tr ies to get away from
the s tation we'll have him . There ' s just
the poss ib i l i ty that he'll get away to sea on
the nex t t ide ."
" I f he does I 'll fo l low him," sa id Bob
shortly, and turned in .
J9*
W H E L M F O O T B A L L I S O V E R :
H o w S o m e W e l l - k n o w n P l a y e r s K e e p in F o r m .
E A G U E
matches have
l e n g t h e n e d
out the foot
ball season,
but, of course,w h e n A pr il
comes , with it we
ma y be supposed
to have finished
with footbal l. A
fe w players may
ye t be engaged
( lucky fellows) in
the final fight for the F.A . Cu p, and s om e ma y
have s till a League match or two depending
on their efforts, which may influence their
club's stopping in this or that League for
nex t year or disapp earing fro m it. But
the mass of footb aller s, wheth er of Soccer or
R u g b y stam p, have had eno ugh of the g ame
by the time the calendar marks March 31,
and are only too ready t o go in for a chang e
of sport.
No w the ma n who wishes to keep fit m ust
not let himself get too stout, too stiff, too
lazy durin g the off-season. He may t ake
things considerably easier than he did
during the s trenuous time dating from
September 1 to March 31, and doubtless he
By GEORGE WYNN(Manchester City F.C., and Welsh International).
will. But he cannot afford to allow his
l imbs to lose their suppleness, to permit his
b o d y to bo too idle, or to risk the dan ger of
finding himself ser iously handicapped, or
altogether out of form, when the football
period shall again come , as it certainly willa few months later.
H o w then does the wi ly and resolute
exponent o f Rugby and Soccer keep his
body in subjection , his mil d at ease, and his
whole being ready an d fit for the fray whic h
next season's appro ach will br ing ? Eac h
man has of course his own favourit e met hods ,
which must necessar ily be individualis tic
and to some exten t character is tic of himself .
Fo r every player learns by stern exper ience ,
b y const ant pra ctice, by special fanc y, the
f inest m etho d, the most advan tage ous and
at the same time enjoya ble way , of keeping
himself in for m duii ng what we ma y t erm
the " off-season."
E d g a r Mobbs , of Nor th ampton , manages
to pass very pleasantly the four or five
month s of summ er by putt ing in a fair
nu mb er of hour s, when free after the day 's
work, with the tennis-r acquet and the golf-
sticks. He is also very fond of cr ic ket, and
indeed amuses himself with most outdoor
sports that are really health-giving and
recreative for mind and b o d y during the
warm weather . Bu t his pr incipal delights ,
as I have just said, are tennis and golf, and
Mr . M o b b s plays a fair game at each.
I rather f a n c y t ha t the summ er hob bies of
another famous three-quarter in the Rugby
gam e—I speak of Mr. F. E. Steinthal, of York shire —are like those of Mr. Mobbs . H e ,
t o o , goes in s trongly for cr ick et, tennis , and
golf , when foot ball is out of the q uestion,
and he finds those sports give him all the
recreation, cha nge, and pleasure he needs
after a tryi ng course of scholasti c work.
A n d such wor k is trying ind eed for most me n.
M y ow n favouri te sport for the sum mer
mon ths does not appeal to all footballers
belonging to noted teams of Ru gb y and
Soccer . I should say t ha t the greater
propor tion of famous- players in bot h types
of the winter game find their f avour i te
summ er recreation in cr icket . Certainly
the f inest Rug by players have done s o ;
T need only instance M r. A. 0. Jon es, Mr. E.
W . Dil lon , Mr . Reggie Spooner as examples.
A n d it is a matter of c o m m o n k n o wle d g e
t ha t ma ny celebrated Associ ation footballers ,
such as Iremonge r , of No tt s ; Duc at, of
As t o n Viil a ; Le ac h, of Sussex ; Shar p, of
Eve rto n, etc . , have chosen football foi
winter , and cr icket for summer, as their
chief way s of earni ng a l ive l ihood. I might
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 4/16
532 The Boy's Otern Paper.
add such instances, too , as those of Mr.
C. B. F ry , H. Makep eace , and H. W.
Hard ing e, t o s trengt hen m y lis t of footb all-
cr icketers of not e ; but further remarks upon
this point are not needed. Cricket is
par excellence the favour ite way by whic h
mo s t football ers kee p fit during the summ er
mo n th s .
Ho we v e r , there are other meth ods, to o,
and those ver y numer ous and varied . Wh at
d o other great footballers do in summer,
men whos e names are quite unkn own to the
world of cri cke t as bein g of any r eput e in
t ha t sport ? Let us take a few of the m, and
we shall see.
Tha t pr ince of Internat ionals , Wil l ie Mere
dith, of Mancheste r Unit ed, has confessed
t ha t he is extremely fond of r abbi t - shoot ing
during the mo nths w hen he is not required
to be delicately turn ing and manipulating
the ball a t Cottonopolis . Meredith is a
good shot, and he likes noth ing better af ter
the season is over than to get down to his
favourite Chirk, and have a good t ime
with the rabbits . He th inks t ha t the keen
use of eye and hand, as well as the activity
one has to display with foot and b o d y n o w
and then w h e n thus shoot ing, are veryvaluable factors for keeping a player in
form during the off-season.
On the other hand, I believe that ce lebra ted
R u g b y three-quarter, John Birke t t , o f
Harlequin fame, is very fond of a bit of
soldier ing, and likes nothi ng better than going
into camp, or acting as officer in an amateu r
c o m p a n y , and generally enjo ying the outd oor
life. Well, certainl y one gets enough activ ity
b y such a met hod of spendi ng the summe r,
and wh en foot ball again calls him to the
fray, the man w ho has gone thro ugh four
months of amateur soldier ing will be ready
fo r the battle , y ou ma y be sure.
I know more than one no ted foo tba l le r
who likes to spend the sum mer months in
fishing. S o me of these good fellows prefer
the quiet waters of lak e and strea m ; other s
c a n n o t rest unless th ey are o n " the sea,
the d ee p blue sea ! " One of tho latter is t ha t
excel lent Soccer player f rom Manches te r ,
Char l ie Rober ts .
T h e Manches te r United exper t goes b y
steam trawler to his recreation, and finds it
o n the breezy b o s o m of the broa d Nort h
Sea. Charles ackno wled ges t ha t for a time
it gave him some trouble to get used to the
new sphere of a ction ; t ha t he had a long
bout of s ickness ; t ha t his time was chiefly
spent in watchin g other men pull in t he
laden nets . But patience and resolve over
c o me most things, and Charlie R obe rts
is not easily beaten, as those well know who
have seen him play at foot ball . In due time
he passed wha t he terms " the sufferingstage, " and began actually to pursue the
sport, and really to f ind enjoym ent in deep-
sea fishing.
An d , once y o u d o feel at ease on the blue
d e e p , w h y , there's noth ing on earth makes
y o u so healtny, so hungry, or feel so much
a ma n. As to keep ing fit! Th e fellow w h o
goes to sea on a Grimsby trawler for a
for tn ight o r so need have no fear abou t
t h a t ! The skipper and the crew will take
care he doesn' t get fat f rom being c o d d l e d ,
o r fro m loung ing abou t lazily ! There 's
alw ays plenty of work to do .
It is surpri sing w hat a nu mb er of the best
players of to- day in the Ru gb y gam e f ind
their summer recreation and work—if I
may couple the tw o toge ther thus—inmili ta ry du t ies . Amo ngs t those good folk
y o u have Mr. J . A. Py m, the Bl ackhea th
half : Lieut. Wo deh ous e, the Unit ed Services
f o r w a r d ; a nd t ha t r edoubtab le cap ta in ,
in more senses t han one , Mr. Craven. Of
course you may say that the soldier 's life is
really the actual busines s of these m en,
and so in truth it is. Bu t, non e the less, that
is the met hod by whic h the y chiefly k e e p
the mse lve s fit and well dur ing the off-season
a t foo tba l l . And their splendid services
to the game from September to March
would appear to p rove t ha t you will have
to go a lo ng wa y to find any finer me th od of
preparing you rself for such severe d eman ds
as football makes t han what soldier ing
affords y o u .
N o mor e pleasant me tho d of spending
the summ er can well be imag ined, I should
say , than gardening, if one really loves such
wo r k . And manual labour in a decent
garden, to o, is splend idly calculated to ke ep
a foot bal ler fit and re ady for the fol lowing
winter 's games. There are several noted
players who stron gly favour gardening as the
best of all exercises for our off-t ime. B u t
the most celebrated football-gardener is
a lmos t ce r ta in ly McBride , till la tely the
f a mo u s goal-keeper of Presto n North End.
G . A . W y n n .
His gar den is (so I am to ld by those wh o
k n o w) a perf ect thing of bea ut y, and the
number of prizes he has taken for fruit,
vege tabl es, and flowers of his ow n gro win g
should constitu te a record for such amo ngstthe fraternity of footbal l-gardener s . Fr om
morning to night, every available hour that
Peter Mc Bri de can spare from other necessary
duties during the summer, he spends in his
gar den ; and wha t he doesn ' t know about
plants , seeds, and grow ing ma y well be lef t
out, even by the professional tiller of the
ground !
The name of Stephen Bl o o me r is so- well
k n o w n in Soccer circl es, and the great
In ternational and mem ber of Der by County
still c o me s before the public almost as
prom inen tly as he ever did in exciting
League matches , t ha t I need not apologise
fo r speakin g of his curious ho bb y in this
connect ion . Bloomer has a way of his own
fo r keepi ng in proper tr im and excellenthealth during the summe r-ti me. He is a
d e v o t e e of baseball, that sport which the
Un i t e d States so greatly favours , but which
has made little progress in our own country,
b e y o n d be ing taken up by a few noted
publ ic schools for gir ls .
Still , though Bl o o me r is perhaps the only
v e r y fam ous foot ball er wh o is a great
a d v o c a te of baseball, yet his unique experi
ence and his outstanding talents in Soccei
have been so pre-eminent for many years ,
that he must be accepted as an excellent
judge of what is best for keeping a man in
good for m when footbal l is over . An d base
ball ma y accord ingl y be reco mmen ded foi
a trial to those who have found cr icket,
gardening, and other things uncongenial.
Gardening is my favourite hobby during
the summer and , together with a ga me of
c r icke t occasi onall y, I manage to keep
myself in fair condit ion for the coming
season.
Of course many well-k nown footballers ,
especially Ru gb y men, are very keen on golf
during summe r-ti me, whils t several others
find equal pleasure and pastime in walking.
There is more than one very celebrated player
of the wi nter spor t wh o avers that , after
all, nothing equals walking long dis tances
fo r keeping a man fit and well. One of the
greatest advoca tes of this form of exercise
fo r th e off-period is James Ashcroft, the
goalie whose magnif icent performances for
Blackburn Rovers last season raised th em
to the proud position they won by theirman y and notab le tr ium phs in League and
Cu p Tie games. Enliv ened by a little easy
cricket with local clubs, Ashcroft 's off- time
is chiefly occup ied with walks varying from
si x miles to ten. An d he alwa ys says to all
and sundry inquirers , "T her e ' s nothing to
boat my form of recreation."
So you see there is a wide choice for you
y o u n g fellows who are keen on football in
win ter, and wan t some equa lly tine spor t or
game in summer, by which you may keep in
proper tr im for the ensuing season. Yo u
can garden ; y ou can take long walks ; you
can play cr ic ke t; yo u can amuse yourself
with bas ebal l; yo u can go soldier ing ; you
can pra ctise sho oti ng in the open fields ; y ou
can go sea-fishing i n a Gr ims by trawler ; ory o u can cli mb the Alpine hills, like Adri an
S t o o p (of Harlequi n fame) does when he
wants a chan ge of exercise.
?C 3C
THE FELLOW WHO WINS.
fTlHERE are f e l lows ga lore of all ages ,
S u cces s t h ey a r e h o p i n g to gain ;
A n d i n s p o r t o r E x a m s , o r i n b u s in es s ,
T h e m e t h o d is a l w a y s t h e s a m e ;
T h o u g h you 're " d o w n e d " d on ' t g ive u p a t t h e o u t s e t
J u s t s cram b le a g a i n t o y o u r p i n s ;
F o r suc c e ss after failure is swe e te s t ,
"Tis gr i t i n a f e l low t h at win s .
Th ere ' s t h e f e l low w h o s t ar t s t h e race swif t ly,R e l y i n g o n s p e e d to be f i r s t ;
Th ere ' s th e f e l low w h o h o p e s t o b e lu ck y ,
A n d w i n a t t h e las t wi t h a " b u r s t " ;
B u t t h e f e l low w h o ' s done some real training,
A n d n o t s i m p l y o n e o r t w o spins ,
W i t h j u d g m e n t a n d p a c e li e l a s t s o u t t h e race,
A n d t h a t i s the f e l low w h o wi ns 1
Th ere ' s th e f e l low w h o m e a n s t o d o won d ers ,
H e t ack le s h i s w o r k w i t h a r u s h ;
For a t i m e h e m a k e s j o l l y good progress
A n d l e ave s fa r b eh in d al l the c r u s h ;
B u t t h e m o m e n t t h at ob s t ac le s m ee t h i m ,
T o los e h ear t a t o n c e h e b e g i n s ;
H e t h r o w s u p t h e s p on ge , t h e plodder creeps u p ,
A n d t h a t i s the f e l low w h o wi ns J
Th ere ' s th e fel low t h a t n o o n e calls c lever,
T h e s m a r t chap just s n eers at his c h a n c e ;
T h o u g h h e ' s s low he i s earn es t a n d cheerful,
A n d tr ies hi s good n am e t o e n h a n c e ;
W h e n he s t u m b l e s a n d g e t s b a d l y s h ak en ,
H i s lesson is l earn t , h e b u t grins .
I t i s clear that reverses can't daunt h i m ,
A n d t h a t i s the f e l low w h o w i n s !
HAROLD DORN^NQ.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 5/16
533
T h r o u g h A f g h a n
Or , L»ari Kha n oT t he D ia mo nd S ta r.
By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,
Author of " Sinclair of the Scouts"
" Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail," etc.
A B e l o o c h e e W a r r i o r .
N hour or so
l a t e r t h e
B e l o o c h e e s
b e g a n t o s h o w
t h e m s e l v e s .
B o b coun t ed
more than a
hundred upon
the hills on
the other side
of the river,
and had no
d o u b t that
another fifty
were lying
c o n c e a l e d
among the
rocks above
the ir heads .
He had had very little practice with the rifle,
and feared very muc h that his skill would
not be of muc h servic e if the bandi ts
made a rush. He knew that he cou ld do
better with his pistol s. A mr an Ali and
the servants, like all Afghans, were ac
customed from infancy to the use of weapons,
and were exp ert shots with the jezail, a
long gun which cou ld throw a bullet four,
or even six, hund red yard s. In the hands
of a c ool mark sman it was an ad mirab le
weapon , far superio r to the ordin ary EnglishBr o w n Bess, then used in the British service.
• As Bo b lay in his shelter, he tried to
calculate the distan ce of various rock s on
the hill-side opposite, taking advantage
of any white mark which sh owe d. H e
practised the mo ve men t of the trigger
finger and held his brea th when he was on
the poi nt of pressing it do wn to discha rge
the weap on. He carefully marke d the
sight on the end of the rifle, so that his eye
caught it on the ins tant he raised the weap on
to his shoulder.
" I don't like those rocks, Amran," he
said, poin ting to the bould ers which lay
in the path before them. " W e need a
clear space in order to pick off the Beloochees
as the y charg e upo n us. D o yo u th ink we
could venture out an d try to roll the m into
the riv er ? "
" No , Lari K ha n; if we tried to do so,
the me n on the cliffs abo ve us would have
us at the ir mercy , and would shoot us down
in a very few minute s. Th ey must stay
where thev are until nightfall, and then
CHAPTER X .— TH E FIGHT IN THE PASS.
perhap s we mig ht mak e an a t t e m p t to
clear them a way. "
A Be l o o c h e e show ed himself on a roc k
on the oppo sit e side of the river. He ha d
a dirty white rag in his hand and waved it
energeti cally. The n he cried ou t: " Ho ,
there, in the ca mp ! Hear me, you ha ve
kil led our leader and wou nde d some of
our friends. Y o u r posit ion is hopeless.
W e have two hundred me n all aroun d yo u,
fighters t ra ined to the warfare of the hills.
Give up your g o o d s , and surrender . W e
will spare yo ur lives, and pr omis e yo u safe
c o n d u c t ou t of the Pass. If yo u do no t
a c c e p t this offer within an hou r, we will
rush your camp, and kil l 3'ou or make you
prison ers. The n we will tor ture y o u until
y o u cry out for mer cy. D o yo u hear ? "
" B e ca re f ul , A mr an , " s a id B o b ; "d on ' t
show yourse lf. I 'll do the sho uti ng. Is it to
be surrender and death—for these vil lains
will promise anything to get us into the ir
clu tch es—o r fight to the bi t te r end ? "
" Fight ! " growl ed Amran , shaking his
fist vengefull y in the di rect ion of the Beloo
chee ; " we have ple nty of a mmun ition ,
and death is sweeter in fight than in cap
t i v i t y . "
" Rig ht you arc, Amran, here goes ! "
B o b put his hands to his mouth and bawled
o u t : " C o m e and take what yo u want. Wecan fight all the Be loo che es in the Bol an
Pass if the y will not let us alo ne. Wh at
we have do ne to you r leader we can do t o
y o u . Ou r g o o d s and live s are our own,
and we know ho w to defend t hem ."
A how l of rage was the onl y verb al re ply,
and a hot fire was op en ed up on the ca mp .
" Steady, m en ," said Bo b, " let there be no
has te . Pick your ene my and aim carefully."
He lay behind his l oopho led defence, and
kept a sharp look-out. Presently he saw
a figure glide rou nd a ro ck ab out two
hund red y ard s awa y. He to ok a careful aim,
drew a long brea th , and gent ly pressed the
trigger. He saw the man thro w up his arms
and collapse. Amra n and the P atha nswe re
n o w bu sy, and after the first few min ute s
the ir aim became deadl y. The ins tant a
Beloochee showe d himself he was dro ppe d by
a quick shot.
A whistle was heard a l i t t le later, and
a c r o wd of the ene my detac hed themselves
and came running do wn the mounta in.
Th e y splashed th roug h a ford , and beg an
crawling up the road abou t eighty yards
f rom the ca mp . It was no t eas y to mark
the m, but the defe nder s rose and stoo d at the
brea stwor k, and beg an to pic k the m off.
S o me ten of the boldest of the at tackers
s tar ted to rush the ca mp . Th ey shouted to
their com rad es as they be gan to race towa rds
the barricade.
" N o w , A mr an , " shou t ed B ob , "d on ' t
waste a sh ot ; it is life or deat h. Ke ep yo ur
pistols till the }' are on us ."
On e of the men screa med out at the
mo me nt and spun round , colla psing finally,
and lyi ng, an iner t mass, at Amran's feet .
He had bee n sho t thro ugh the head as he
incautiously raised himself too high above the
breas twork.
For the next few minutes B o b cou ld n o t
hav e told what was hap pen ing. It was all
like a hid eous dream of firing and lo adin g,
s mo k e and noise. He worke d like a mad
man, and saw t ha t his comrades were
fighting with like spirit . So me of the bold es t
among the enemy ran to within pistol-shot
of the camp , but then their courage fai led,
and they scutt led back into shelter. Tw o
men found refuge under the bould ers whic h
lay on the road. Fortu nately they had
dr opped their jezails in the exci tem ent of
the charge , for the Afgh an always prefers the
knife for a hand -to- hand str uggle, and is aptto east away his gun as an encu mbra nce .
Al l day the irregular sniping continued,
effect ively on the par t of the defen ders, bu t
uselessly so far as the ban dits were con cer ned .
A s dusk was fal l ing, Amran noti ced a m o v e
me nt on the roa d. Th e men sheltered by the
boulders had become tired of their posit ion
and showe d by their m o v e m e n t s t ha t they
desired to join the ir comr ades .
" Le t them al one , Amr an , till they feel
conf iden t t ha t we have not discerned them.
T h e y will rise to the ir fee t after a time, and
t ha t wil l be your oppor tuni t y ."
Amr an was watching the road l ike a tiger
ab ou t to spring . B o b had his eye glued to
th e l oopho le , and his rifle was as steady as a
rock . T he ins tant the men rose to a
standing posit ion there were two sharp
cracks, and both bandits fell.
" G o o d , " grunted Amran, as he bit
another cartridge, "t he y came for our
g o o d s , they have got the best of i t—ammu ni
tion ; and w e wo n' t ask them to return it ,
the thieves ."
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 6/16
534 The "Boy's Otsrn Taper.
A meal was hastily prepared, and Bob
marvelled at his appetite and that of the
men. Figh ting in the keen mount ain air
gave an edge to their hunger, and they ate
as tho ugh they were famished. Bu t as the
darkness rolled d o wn upon the camp Bob
felt that their chanc es of escape were wort h
little.
H e at first thought that it woul d be wisest
t o leave their goods an d take to the mou ntains, trusting to Provide nce to open the wa y
to some conceal ment. Amra n laughed at
the idea of escapi ng from men who knew
every goat -trac k on the hills. The n he
suggested trying to break through in order
to retrace their way to Dadur, al thou gh he
knew well that th e Beloochees would almost
certainly consider that to be their most
feasible course, and take steps to forestall
them.
Amr an sho ok his head. " There is
nothing for it," said he, " but to go straight
on throug h the Pass. A kajila may bo
coming through from the Shawl Valley, and
t be Beloochees, thieves of Shaitan as the y arc
— m a y Allah make their hands rot !—will
probably leave us, to attac k the caravan .
T h e y will alway s try to get plen ty of boo ty ,although the death of their leader at our
hands will make th em anxio us to be reven ged
upon us. If we could get away from this
defile we migh t travel swiftly throug h the
dark hours."
" But in that case we should be obliged to
leave the pa cks ," said Bo b, " and the
ammunition would be a treasure, indeed, to
these mountai n thieves. Ho w do yo u
like the idea of buying ammunition for
Beloochee thieves, Amran ? I can tell you
that I do not like it, and rather than see
it fall into their hands I would blow it all
u p . "
T h e ment ion of the packs steeled Am ran 's
heart, for, like all the Afghan s, he was gree dy,
and wou ld not give up anything which hadcost mon ey out of his own pocket.
" If we hid the stuff," cont inue d B ob , " it
would only be for a short time, for the
Beloochees kn ow every hole in the Pass, and
search parties would soon dig it up. No ,
Amr an, it will ha ve to be use, lose, or keep,
and , so far as I am co nce rne d, I say use and
keep. "
" So let it be ," said Amran, grindin g his
teeth ; " i f we must de cid e one way or the
other I am with you, but by Allah, it will be
a costly use for the Beloochees."
Meanwhi le a sharp look-out was kept.
There was not a star showi ng, and the Pass
w i s as bla ck as a mine . It was difficult to
se e anything beyo nd a yard or so.
" Amra n," said Bo b suddenly, " where
do yo u think they are kee ping the mules ?
Would they take them up the mountains
or down the Pass ? I sho uld say that they
would stable them som ewhe re near the river,
in order to avoid the troublo of carrying
wate r up the hills. If we had the mules we
might wrap felt about their hoofs, and load
them up quietly, and then make a push for a
place farther up the Pas s."
" Yo u would never reach them, Lari K han,
and if you did, the Beloochees woul d not let
us through. Ab o u t a mile from this place
the road goes throug h a roc ky gate not mor e
than three yards wide. A b o v e the gateway
there are paths, on each side, from which
boulders wou ld be thrown . The river is too
deep and strong there, to be forded . If the
thiev es cau gh t us in the defile we sho uld b e
killed with out be ing able to strike a blow in
return. The re is not hin g for it but to wait
till the mo rni ng, and kill as ma ny of the
attackers as we can, and trust to Allah to
send some relief."
" Allah w ill help those who help them
selves , Amr an ," said Bo b, as he examined
the prim ing of his pistols j " if we do no thin g,
the end will soon c o m e , fo r five men cannot
d o mu ch against a hun dred . I am goi ng
to see if something cannot be done to give us
relief."
W h i l e he spok e, Bo b was busy wr apping
some thic k felt around his bo ot s in ord er to
make his steps noiseless. Amr an watche d
him, without saying a word.
" Here goes , Am ra n, " he said at length ;" keep a str ict look -out . Whe n I return I
will coo like a d o v e , but don ' t stir from th e
c a m p , what eve r happ ens. I shall be all
right . I will take my riile, and plenty of
ammuni t ion. Give me som e brea d an d
grain. I ma y be awa y long er than I
e x p e c t . "
H e pressed Amran's hand, waved a
farewell to the man next him, and glided out
of the cam p like a serpen t. Tho river
roare d on his left hand , and, on the r ight,
the huge roc ky mounta in sto od enshroud ed in
the blackest darkness. He crawled along
until he came to the boul ders on the road .
There was nothing stirring. A b o u t a quarter
of a mile d o wn the road he heard a Beloochee
speaking to some outp ost . " Kha mia b, " said
the voice , " are you there ? "
" Wh o speaks- ? " was the answer.
" It is I, Maz ar Al i ; w e at ta ck o n the first
gl impse of daylig ht. Dervi sh Kha n left the
Shawl Val ley this mor nin g with fifty me n.
H e is ten mile s awa y, but will mar ch at
dawn. We must capture this cam p, and be
a wa y with the spoil before the ar my of Akba r
Khan c o me s up. Ho goes to watch the
Feringhees coming f rom Ferozepore . Syed
Ma h o me d Khan has left Herat and goes to
Ka b u l . W7
ho watches the mules ? "
" Malmul the Afrecdee, and Shadian Ali;
Karki the Usb eg lies in tho ro ad wa y as an
ou tp os t. Is all well on the hill ? "
" All is we l l ; we hold a counc i l shortly after
midnight to deci de whether i t woul d not be
wdser to b lock Akbar Khan in the Pass, untilwe have settled with these traders. If the
N a w a b c o me s he will take all the spoil—I
k n o w Akb ar Kha n. Farewell , Kha miab , I
will see if Malm ul and Ka rki are on the
aler t . "
Th e sound of his retreating footsteps died
a wa y , and B ob was left , with Kh ami ab
crouching in the darkness somewhere near
h i m. Concerning the exa ct posit ion of the
guar d, B ob had little idea, but he kne w that ,
if he meant to go beyond this point ,
Kh am ia b mus t first be disp osed of. Taki ng
a pebb le, he thre w it gently where he jud ged
the ma n to be. He heard a jezail rattle, as
tho ugh it had been lifted s udde nly, and a
voice said : " Wh o is there ? Spea k, or I will
fire into the darkness," and ho knew that th e
weapon of Kha mi ab was being presented tofire. A lo w chu ckl e came to the ears of the
sentinel, and then a hoarse voice said :
" T h o u f o o l , Khamiab, son of a foolish
mot her ; art t hou afraid of sha dow s ? "
" A h , " cried Kha mia b, " art thou at thy
tricks again, dung- picke r of the Usbeg
camel-men ? Th ou villain, I see the e."
" Nay , thou canst not , Khami ab , thou art
t oo mu ch afraid. Bu t fear not , Ka rki will
protect thee ."
Ag a i n th e irritating laugh and chuckle
were heard. Kha mi ab had not the gentlest
of tempers, and this offer of protection, on
th e par t of a despised Usbeg camel-man, was
more than he cou ld sub mit to. He laid his
jezail on the ground, and, drawing his keen
knife, bounded towards the spot whence thelaugh had proceede d. Bo b, mov ing noise
lessly, fou nd and pic ked up the jezail, and
d r o p p e d it into the river.
" T h o u d o g , " grow led Kha mia b, as he
g r o p e d abo ut in the darkness , " where art
thou ? "
" Here, wait ing for thee, on a smooth
piece of ground beside the river. Come,
K h a m i a b . "
T h e Beloochee needed no further invita
tio n. He walk ed swiftly towa rds the voice .
So swift ly, that he tripped over the leg Bob
had stuck out, and the next ins tant K hami ab
wa s face downw ards , with two strong hands
clutching his nec k. He wriggled, and got
one hand free, and with it stabbed viciously
upwards. Bo b missed a deadly wound by themerest shave . The n he seized the wrist of
his opp onen t, and wren ched the knife
aw ay, and again grappled with the Beloochee.
It was a quiet struggle, but a determ ined
one . Gradually Khamiab's hold relaxed,
and his head fell forward. He was chok ed
into insensibil i ty. Bo b unw ound the sense
less man 's sash, an d boun d and gag ged
him with it, leaving him under a huge
rock by the river-side. He then hurried
a l o n g the roadway, keeping a sharp
l ook-ou t for Kar ki the Usb eg. As he turned
a cor ne r of the Pas s, he saw a fire gleami ng
on the walls of a hollow in the roc ks. A
ma n was seated by it, and from the interior
of th e cave , Bo b heard the sound of stamping
hoofs . Evidently the mules had been stabled
in this natural s t ronghold.
T h e man was wrap ped in his hea vy felt
cloak, and Bob could see that the Usbeg was
n o d d i n g drow sily at his pos t. The war mth
of the fire, and the s oo thi ng nois e of the
river, ha d made the man sle epy, and. the
abs olut e stillness of tho night, apar t from
th e rush of tho stream, seeme d to make
him careless.
B o b lay for a few minut es, study ing the
situation, and saw that by noiseless mo v e
ments he might slip past the man and get
a m o n g the mul es. He did this, after a few
minutes , and lay in the darkness of the ca vern .
Bu t the Usbe g had quick ears, for he notic ed
that some of the mules were beco min g restive.
Bo b ' s presence had alarmed t hem.
Muttering curses on the beasts, Karki rose,and lumbered towards them. He was a
h e a v y , stupid-lo oking man, and came up to
the mul e whic h sto od at the extrem e end
of the l ine. Bo b cou ld not see his face, but
he heard him mutt erin g. Clenchin g his fist,
he struck Karki a heavy b l o w on the chin.
H e skin ned his knuc kles, but the Usbe g
went d o wn as if he had been shot. Bo b
pinioned him, and wrapped his face up ,
gagging hi m effect ively with his sash.
Taking the hea vy felt cloak from th e
shoulders of the prostrate man, he cut it
into strips, and, whispering quietly in the
ears of each animal , bega n to fasten the
felt abou t their hoofs . There were twelve
mules , and the w ork was not easy, and ,
before he was half-w ay thr ough his task,
B o b realised that he woul d need more felt.
Bu t time was pressi ng and he dare d no t
risk a longer stay. Ty in g the mules hea d
and tail, so that they for med a long line, Bo b
flung the sac ks of bar ley acro ss their backs ,
and f astened e ach sack securely, and leavin g
the fire still burning, he led the animals into
the dark road way . An hour afterwards
Am ra n Ali heard the l ow co o of a d o v e , an d
soon after this th e t rain of mules stood
within the barric ade.
" B y Al lah ! " cried Amr an, lifting up
his hand s in aston ishme nt, " thou ai t a
wizard , Lari Kh an ! "
" S i l e n c e , Am ra n; we must load , and be
off. At dawn the Beloochees will attack .
A n o t h e r chief, Ak ba r Khan , is ten miles up
the Pa ss with a large party of men . If he joins the ba ndits there will be no hope of
ou r escape . "
" Akb ar Kh an ! " excla imed Amra n ;
" praise be to Al la h; if it be he, we are sa ved .
H e is thy b rother, Lari Kh an, tho ugh on e of
the greatest chiefs amo ng the Afghans. If
we can but r each his cam p, we are safe ."
[ As
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 7/16
A T A L E O F A N A E R O P L A N E .
(Drawn for the " Boy's Own Paper " by ARTHUR GILL.)
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 8/16
536 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.
As he spok e, Amr an was lifting the sacks
from the mu les, and prepar ing to pack the
amm uni ti on eases. His men assisted, and
in another hour all was ready for the start.
Amran, with two men, went forward,
leaving Bo b and the other to drive the
mules. They had a start of some three
hundred yards.
C H A P T E R X I .
TH E BEARD OF DERVISH KHAN.
I T t o o k so me persuas ion to get the mules
mo v i n g at all qui ckl y, but at le ngth the defile
was traversed, and a wider glen mad e th e
going easier. An d yet the pace seem ed a
s low one to the anxious drivers. Th e hour
before the dawn would soon arrive, and
then th e Beloochees would discover the loss
of the mules and tho emp ty cam p, and
would pursue hotfoot for revenge.
As Bo b urged on the hindmost mules he
heard a yel l far behind him. It was like
th e dis tant yapping of wolves. Some shots
were fired, and then a great shout re-echoed
through the Pass. Bo b lashed the mules, and
bawled to Amran and his servant to force
the animals into a gallop. As the way was
c o mp a r a t iv e ly smooth, the train broke into
a trot. A b o u t half a mile ahead, Am ran
knew that there was a rocky gateway,
formed by tw o inaccessible granite peaks.
It was only three yards or so across, and
cou ld be b locked by boulders and defended,
fo r a time, by resolute men.
H e yelled at the mules, and lashed t hem
with his whip, until they dashed forward
in a wild gallop. The men ran with all
their might, striving to keep up with the
beasts, for they knew that if they were not
careful the terrified animals would bunch
together, and block the Pass. A s the y rushed
into the gateway, they heard shots behindthem, and the shouts of the pursuing bandits
procla imed the fact that in another quarter
of an hour the fugitives would be overtaken.
" Amr an, " gasped Bo b, " let the man
go on with the mules. W e mus t stay here
t o defend the gate way. He can halt in half
an hour or so and pile some stones up so
that we can retreat into a little fort. Ro l l
those boul ders into the passage, and get the
rifles ready."
Amran explained to the man what he had
t o do , and then helpe d B ob to make a fortress
of the gate way. It was no w near daylight,
and in the gray haze objects cou ld be distin
guished a good distanc e away . There was
an open space of some five hundred yards
before th em, and the grad ual rise gav e theattacked some advan tage. Th ey laid the
rifles on the gr oun d besid e them , and pre
pare d to fire at four hun dre d yard s.
Presently a com pa ny of some t went y
Beloochees emerged f rom th e g loom of the
Pass . Amr an ope ned fire, and th e leader
tumbled over. The rest raced on without
a pause. As rap idly as poss ible , and yet with
coolness , the tw o men kep t up a dea dly fire.
W h e n the survivors reached within a
hun dre d yards of the gate way , the y flung
themselves on the ground, and began to
return the shot s. Thei r fire was ineffe ctive,
altho ugh the bullets splashed on the granite
a b o v e Amr an' s head. Bo b leaped to his
feet an d t o o k a long aim o v e r the top of the
boulders . Standing thus, and well-sheltered,
he was enabled to pick the men off with
sureness till none remained in sight.
" W e are all right no w, Amr an, unti l th e
main b o d y arriv es. The se were the swiftest
runners, the rest will be some distance
behi nd. Wh at shall we do , re t reat on the
next post or defend th is place ? "
" We are but tw o, Lari Kh an, and a
rush will ove rpo wer us. Stay, what are
y o u abo ut to d o ? "
Hi s vo ice rose to a shriek as Bo b slipped
rou nd the boul ders and ran wi th all speed
towards the prostrate Beloochees . Amran
saw him grabbing the hive-shaped felt hats
wh i c h lay beside the dead men. He re
turned with his arms full. Flinging the m
d o wn , he raced b ack and seized some jezail s.
" Co me on, Amr an ," he said, " stick the
jezails in tho ground so t ha t they will s tand
upri ght. Put a hat upo n each . Let them
show over the boulders. No w, go outside
a few yard s away , and tell me how the v
l o o k . "
" By Allah ! " g rinned Amr an, w hen he
returned, " thou hast thy father's he ad.
T h e y look like warriors keeping a fort . If
they c o u l d but sho ot, they w ould keep
b a c k these dogs for us."
" No w, Amr an, " said Bob , " I can run
quicker than yo u can . Get off after the
mules and choose another fort, five miles or
so up the Pass. I will stay here unti l th e
Beloochees come . They will think t ha t
we have received assistance f rom some one,
and will not attac k wit hout a g o o d deal
of preparation. Wit h luck I ought t o
keep them at bay for an hour or mor e. "
" Allah prot ect thee, Lari Kh an. I am
lot h to lea ve thee by thj'self, bu t t he plan
is a g o o d on e. May Alla h guard the e ! "
W i t h th is brief farewell Amran waved
his hand and darte d up the gorge . With a
beating heart Bo b lay at his post, his eyes
fixed u p o n the open space before him. In
a short tim e he heard shout ing, and the
Beloochees dashed into the open.
T h e y stopped when they saw the bodies
of their com rad es, and be gan to shou t to
each other, and poi nt to the gat ewa y. A
q u i c k successio n of bullets made t hem rush
fo r shelter. Th e main b o d y drew back,
and presently half a dozen skirmishers
were sent forward. Bo b was prepared fortheir c o mi n g , and soon showed them t ha t
a g o o d mark sman was lying behin d the
boulders . Som e long- distanc e shots made
th e c r o wd dra w back into shelter.
Half an h our passed before they made
their reappearance. They were rolling
s o me good-s ized boul ders before them, and
B o b sa w t ha t they meant to provide shelter
fo r themse lves before they ventu red on
another assault . He watched them closely ,
takin g every oppor tun ity of firing at any
man wh o exp ose d himself. His practice
was becom ing mor e dead ly with ever y shot,
and the Beloochees were evidently re
luctant to c o me t o close quarters. Presently
the survi vors left the stones, and scuttle d
b a c k into shelter.
A S t o r y w i t h o u t W o r d s !
B o b now began to fire over the breast
work, from the pl aces where' the h ive-
shaped hats had been pla ced, for he re
me mb e r e d t ha t so far he had only shot
through the loopholes near the ground, and
he , of course, wished the bandi ts to think
t ha t the men w h o m they imagined were
stan din g were also firing. As rapid ly as
he cou ld he poured in his fire, and then, re
loading his weapons, began to get ready
t o depart. For more than an hour he had
kept the foe at bay, and felt sure that they
thought t ha t at least twel ve men were
holding the gateway-
H e gather ed up his weapo ns and ran as
quickly as he cou ld after Amra n Ali . It
was a mos t toi lso me run. Th e Pass as
cended with a considerable amoun t of steep
ness, and it wa s no easy task. He was
almost exhaus ted w hen ho came into ih e
little fort erected by Amran and his man.
It was cunning ly placed , with a space of
about fifty yards clear ground before it,
where the cliffs offered a very precipitous
ascent on either side. Bould ers had been
fixed across the roa dwa y, and, at the corne r
which led to the place, Amran had fixed
two pieces of white clo th, abou t the level of a man' s shoulders. Ho had paced th e
distance, and knew exactly the range and
height at whi ch to fire, The man had
prepared some food , and Bo b now partook
of som e hot tea and war m b read.
" Let the man press on with the mules,
Amr an, " said Bo b, as lie enjo yed the food.
" Th ey will not be along for an hour or so
unless something very unexpected has
happ ened. I gav e them the impressi on that
a doze n men were holdin g the Pass, and I
expect it will be som e time bef ore they mak e
up their minds to rush the position. When
they discover that ho shots are being sent
into them , they will think that the men are
preparing some surprise, and will be cautious.
As soon as they come up here we will tr y th esame game on them, so far as the shooting is
concerned, and when they hesitate to come
on , you can rush off as before, and build
anoth er fort up the Pass. "
" Na y, Lari Kha n, " said Amran , " the
Beloochees will not bo taken a second time
with the same snare. Wh en the y ha ve
broken into the gateway and discovered that
they were held back by a few empty jezails
and Afghan hats, the y will unders tand that
at the most only two or three men were
defending the place , and this time they
will come straight on. If yo u are fit
fo r it, I advise leaving this little fort and
hurryi ng after the mules. We had bette r
reconcile ourselve s to the loss of the ammun i
tion and let the Beloochees have the boo ty
they cove t , if by the sacrifice we can escape
with our lives."
It was with a great effort that Amran Ali
sjioke in this way, and Bob realised that the
peril was dire to cause the Afghan to calmly
consider the loss of the ammun iti on and
mules.
" I' m hange d if I do , " he replied, smackin g
his fist in the pa lm of his han d. " Th e
Beloochee scoundrels shall not have a single
item of my property. We have scored
so far, and when the push comes something
will turn up to enable us to circumvent
them. They know our faces, for the y had a
good look at us while we sat r oun d the fire
when Hassa n was killed, but I fanc y I can
manage to have a few words with them.
What do you think of this ? "
As he spoke, Bob took out the thick bla ck
beard and pu t it on. Pulli ng off his felt ca p
he wound the folds of his turban round his
head and fixed the Diamond Star in the front.
" When they turn tho corner we will
pepper them as hard as we can, and then I
shall ju mp up and speak with them. Th ey
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 9/16
Through Afghan Snobets. 537
do not know that we kno w anything abou t
Akbar Kha n and his men being at the Sh awl
end of the Pass. I am no w an officer of
Akbar Khan , Amran, my brother, and when
they hear mo spea k they will think that an
army is at my back. Y ou must tell me
something about this Akba r Kha n when I
am parleyin g with them, an d it will go hard
with us if I do not make them retreat ."
" By Allah ! " e xclai med Amran , " thouhast a head of wisdom, Lari Kha n. Th y
tong ue will save thee when thy h and fails,
but b eware , the Beloochees are cunning as
tho serpent, and m ay bite before thou hast a
chance to speak ."
" Wo shall see, Amra n ; mean while , let us
be watchful ."
Th e y lay for more than an hour before any
Bound cam e up the Pass. The n the y heard
the sound of running feet, and the Beloochees
swep t round the corner. Agai n tho rillcs
snap ped out, and men began to dr op .
Th e bandits came to within twe nty yar ds
of the barricade, but halted when a c o m
man din g figure st oo d up in full v iew. On
its turban there blazed the Diam ond Star.
A strong voice called on the Beloochees to
halt. The y hesitated and fell back . A few
shots from Amran made them seek shelter.
" What seek ye f rom tho men of Akbar
Kha n '! " shouted Bo b. " Thiev es and dogs
of the mountains, hav e ye none other enem y,
t ha t ye seek to slay the soldiers of a great
chief ? Bac k to you r kennels, eve ry man of
y o u . "
A Beloochee, holdin g up emp ty hands andbowing , cried ou t: " Wh o is it t ha t speaks ?"
" Wh o am I, Amr an ? " whispered Bo b.
" Give me a name , quickl y. Wh o was t ha t
chief who was said to be in the Pass ? "
" Say Derv ish Kha n ; he is like thee, and
a close an d trusted friend of Akb ar K ha n. "
" Dervish Khan, thou blind camel,"
shouted B ob . " A m I so unk nown am ong
the mountains that I mus t cry my nam e to
e v e r y fool wh o asks it ? Aga in, I say, what
seek ye ? "
" S o me traders, with a train of twelve
mules—they have killed our leader, Kilah
Ersari, and stolen tho mules out of our
keeping. Much b l o o d has be en spilt, and
ou r knives are th irs ty for reven ge. Stand
(To be continued.
aside. O Dervish Khan, friend of Akbar
K han , t ha t we ma y pursue and capture
t hem."
" Naj-, Beloochee , shall tho wren take th e
prey f rom tho talons of tho eagle ? Wh en
Akbar K h a n enters tho Pass he know s ho w
to l evy t r ibute. Retu rn to thy nests and
seek t raders when we have taken what is our
right and have d epa rted ."
" Whe re is the Sirdar, the father of Akba rKha n, my lord ? "s ai d the Be l o o c h e e ; " we
seek to al ly ourselves with his caus e."
" W h o s e son is Akbar Khan supposed to
be , Am ra n ? Hur ry up, he will susp ect
someth ing if 1 de la y, " whispered Bob .
" Say Dost Moha mmed Khan, and that he
is hold ing his men toge the r in Ka bu l, and has
sent A kb ar , his son, to mee t the acc urse d
Feringhees who are even now marching from
Shikarpore to tho Bolan Pass," whi spered
A mr an .
B o b shouted ou t the message, and the
leader replied ; " Pard on, 0 Dervis h Khan , I
must speak with my comr ade s, " and with
these wo rd s he b o we d , and disappeared
round the corner.
O W T OB E C O M E
A "W I R E L E S S
"O P E R A T O R .
A Pr of es si on -thai: Off ers M a n v A t t r a c t i o n s .
By T. MICHAEL POPE.
HIS course at t he training school having
been com ple ted , the wireless opera tor
is generally sent to sea as a second operator
before being allowed to take charge of an
installation on board ship.
A wireless oper ator signs on with the ship's
crew, and he is almos t invar iably rank ed
as a junior officer, being, of course, subject
to the usual regulati ons of the ship. His
posit ion is a responsible, one , thoug h the
extent of his duties is apt to vary . Whe re,
for instance, the ship carries two ope rator s,
a continuou s watch is maint ained , but where
only one opera tor is carried, the hou rs of
duty are somewhat l ong . As a balanc e to
this disadvantage, ver y little dut y is required
of him while the v essel is in p or t.
His duties are generally limited to looking
after the wireless business, and, as a member
of th e crew, he is not ex pec ted to mi x with
the passengers. Things are mad e ve ry
pleasant for him, howev er, so long as he
conduc ts himself prop erly , and, sho uld the
vessel touch at a foreign port, the ope rato r
will have no difficulty in obtain ing leave
from the captain to go ashore.
No w comes the question of pay . TheMarconi operator, i t should be remembered,
receives a considerably higher wa ge than th e
railway telegraphist. The operator will
have to serve his appren ticesh ip at se a;
afterwards, if prope rly qualified, he m ay
receive promot ion to some shore appoint
men t. Th e junio r telegraphi st wh o has
obtained his certificate of profic iency from
the Postmaster-General begins with £1 per
week , and this is fo l lowed by an annual
increment of 2s. 6d. per week to £1 10*.
Before this max imu m is reached, the opera •
tor, if he has disp laye d sufficient intellige nce,
will pro babl y bo appo inted as a " senior
telegr aphis t," in which case he will receiv e
£1 15s. a week , rising by annual increments
of 5*. per week to £2 15s. , while on b oar d
ship ever yth ing is " fou nd " f or h im. Effi
c iency an d g o o d - c o n d u c t are the two certain
avenues to promot ion.
Th e nature of the w ork is some time s
varied, and always responsible. The necessity
for an unremi tting dilige nce is illustrated by
th e fol lowing anecd ote which appe ared
in the Octo ber, 1911, issue of " T h e
Marcon igraph " :—•
" A few mon ths ag o tho writer was in
conv ersa tion wit h one of the engin eers of
a carg o ship (wh ich was totally burnt at sea
during 1910), wh o. with half the c rew, spent
four or five days in an open boat, the re
mainder of the crew taking to another boat ,
which was sighte d and pic ked up by a
L e y d e n liner. The rescu ed men informe dthe captain of this Leyden l iner t ha t th e
oth er bo at was lost sight of dur ing the first
night after leavi ng the wrec k, and wa s,
p r o b a b l y , still missing.' The captain, by
mean s of the Mar con i syst em, notified all
othe r ships with whi ch his ship co mm un i
cated that another boat containi ng members
of the crew of the burnt car go ship was at
sea. Thes e ships kep t a special loo k-o ut
fo r the bo at, and a Cuna rd liner was suc cess
ful in sighting the missing boat and rescuing
the me n, wh o, by lon g exp osu re, were in a
v e r y bad s tate. This engineer s tated ver y
definitely that had it not been for tho Marconi
system they wo u l d not have been rescued
a l i v e . "
A story of this sort helps one to realise
the responsibili t ies of the M arconi operato r,
and to understand someth ing of the value
of the services which he is enab led to
render.
W e hear a great deal now aday s abou t
" d e c a y i n g industries." W e l l , wireless
telegraph y is certainly not among them. On
the contrary, the Marco ni opera tor is in
greater dema nd every year. Fiv e or six
years ago tho operati ng staff was confin ed
to a mere handful of men ; to -d ay there ar e
probably not fewer than two thousand.
The re is no royal road to succes s, and the
a x i o m is part icularly t rue with regard to
wireless tele gra phy . Th e business has go t
to be learned, and learned thor ough ly. I t
is not a profess ion for the me re idle dilettan te. Intell igence, application, a steady
head and a c ool nerve,—these are indispen
sable requisit es. But for those who possess
them the life of a Ma rconi operator is one
that is full of ind uce men ts. An d succe ss in
th is profession is a ver y tangible thing
indeed.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 10/16
538 The "Boy's Otetn Taper.
Do You Want
to Pl ay for Yo ur County ?A Se ri es o f Ei gh t Art ic les Spe cia l ly Writ te n Tor th e " B.O.PV'
By W ILFRED RHODES(The famous Yorkshire and England Cricketer).
CHAPT ER V. SOMETHING ABOUT BOWLI NG, BUT NOT A LESSON.
T J f 3
as bowling
is concer ned,
it is never
very wise to
i n t e r f e r e
w i t h a
y o u n g s t e r ' s
o w n natural
m e t h o d s .
Y o u c a n
teach a boy
h o w t o
make a g o o d
s t r o k e i n
batting, but
to a t temp t
to teach him
h o w to de
liver a ball
llfeA^— is beyond
a n y b o d y ' s
power . Let
him perse
vere in his own wa y and go on for a ti me
until he has got his swing and run. The n, if
there are any little faults, they must be
corrected ver y careful ly lest in doin g so yo u
upset the whole of the machi nery.
Encou rage a boy to cultivate a g o o d
length, and then if he has developed any
special qualif icati ons in the s hape of swing
or break, they can be gradually ad ded t o
afterwards. There is a great tenden cy to
o v e r b o wl amongst youngsters, and I would
warn them not to bowl too long at a stretch.
Bo y s will seld om adm it being fatigued, and
so it is necessary to keep a strict watch over
this very simple po in t; for overdoing one
self is far- reachin g in its evi l effects a nd
is likely to d o a subtle d ama ge which few
people can estimate.
I hav e ver y frequ entl y heard men say,
" A bowler is born, not mad e." There may
or may not be something in these words, but
I am quite sure in my ow n mind that , be a
youth ever such a naturally gifted bowler,
ho will requi re years of pra cti ce befor e he
will be worth his salt in first-class c rick et of
to-d ay. There are thousand s of bowlers
wh o have g o o d deliveries, accu rac y of pitch,
and wh o are able to imp art a cer tain
amo un t of break to the ball, who will n ever
make first-class trundlers. They have never
tro ubl ed to cult iva te to a fine art the
natural apti tude they already possess, and
are perfec tly satisfied to go on, da y after day ,
bowl ing a decent ball, when, with a little
enterprise and practic e, those ordi nary balls
cou ld be turned into something better.
A large numb er of the you ths one sees
performi ng in secon d and third rate
cricket seem to have an idea that physical
strength alone is the one thing needed to
mak e a successful bowler . It is quit e a
c o m m o n thing to see in our public parks
y o u n g me n tearing along to the wicket with
a sling which savo urs of a throw, and
sending d own balls that pitch half-way
d o wn tho wic ket , and either g o high up over
the batsm en's heads or are stopp ed by some
personal part of the gent leme n who are
supposed to wield the willow. If a few
runs are scored against men of this tear-
away type, it is more by luck than g o o d
judgment, and one can only wonder why
there are not more serious accidents.
Ther e are fast bowl ers of the tear -awa y
type wh o are not only naturally dangerous
b y reason of their deliveries and inability
to bowl anythi ng lik e a length, but who
purp osel y try to injure ba tsme n after the
latter have shown their contempt by
hit t ing them to the bound ary once or
twice. This fact r emin ds mo of a cer tain
match in which I was playing some time
ago .
A fast bowl er was on at one end and
t wo men were in who had both top ped the
century. At last the fast bow ler go t cross
when he saw his best deliveri es goi ng to the
boun dar y, and in a stage whisper said,
" No w, he's go t to go if I ha ve to kill hi m ! "
He then deli bera tely bow led at the bats man' s
b o d y , catchi ng him inside the knee. Run
ning up to the v ict im he apol ogised most
profusely, and the poor chap, after limpi ng
about for two or three minutes, went on
with his innings.
" Well , of all the che ek ! " uttered the
blac kgua rd bowl er as ho passed me. " He
w o n ' t go after that ! I must give him one
on his skull! "
N o w this is an instance of blackg uard ly
behaviour which some would say is merely
all in the gam e. It is not in the game, and
I do hope my you ng bowli ng friends willnever be guilty of endeavouring to gain an
advant age by method s that are unsports
manlike.
It is generally said that fast bowlers
depend upon their pace to beat bats men; and
no matter where the ball pitches, the bowler
with a strong arm will find plenty of victi ms.
No w, whilst fully recognising the force of
such remarks when applied to cricket of
that order which is played upon rough and
uncared-for wickets, I cannot for one
moment agree that pace and pitch alone
will work havo c amongs t great batsmen
on present-day plumb wickets.
Of course, I am fully aware that a very
fast bo wler is apt to make a mist ake and
drop a ball somewhat short occasionally.
The b owler, no matter whether fast, medium,
or s low, would be a marvel if he could go on
fo r ever without making a mis tak e; but
I am quite sure that tho ball with which the
fast bowl er gets wic kets is not a short one.
It may be over-p itche d—if oneca n over-pitch
a ball—but in the majority of cases batsmen
fall to the deliv ery which has become
k n o wn as the one of good length.
Bu t good length alone will not bring
success on the perfect wicket s to whic h we
are getting so accus tome d to-day . The
y o u n g bowler must use his brains, always
end eavo uri ng to find a bats man' s weakness,
and, if possi ble, read his thou ghts . A good
length is an essential, for wit hout it you can
d o nothi ng. It is really the key not e of
all g o o d bowl ing ; but at th e same time,
although by a perfect length you may keep
d o w n th e rate of scori ng an d have the cr edit
of bowl ing a numb er of maidens , it will be
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 11/16
Do you Want to Tlay for your County? 539
more by the devilment that y ou attach to
your ball in the wa y of break and pace that
you will co mma nd success. There are a
good many bowlers in first-class cricket of
to-day who by their wonderful accuracy
of length ar e very useful to their sides, and
do a l ot of good work, if only to go on
whilst the other bowlers ar e being rested.
T o al l batsmen there is a fascinationabout the mere sensation of forward play,
an d one cannot get away from th e fact of
its be ing loss certa in w hen th e bowler is
getting break on, consequently th e slow
bowler ' s object should be to keep th e
batsman pla ying forward at the ext reme
end of his reach , and a catch at point or mid-
off may result at any moment .
That ball just outside the off-stump is so
well known as a snare that al l first-class
batsmen leave it severely alone; but there
comes a time when a man forgets caution,
an d is tempted to " have a g o . " Let him
do so. Yo u have four or five men behind
the wicket wh o are eagerly awaiting th e
mis-hit, and sooner or later it is just on
the cards that a catch results.
As a bowler you have ten other men in
the field who ar e eager to help you . Then
why bowl stuff which th e batsman is just
able to stop but not score off ? Dece ive
hi m if you can, but tempt him all you know
ho w to " have a g o , " and, so sure as the
night follows the da y, he will eventually
make a mistake and get himself out. I
spoke of knowing a man's weakness. Wha t
ca n be more simple, if you know that a
certain batsman is fond of having a good
hit in the direction of long-off, than to put
a ma n with a safe pair of hands in that
position an d bowl up tho kind of ball th ebatsman is anxious to get ? He may score
tw o or three fours off you , but sooner or
later he falls into the t r ap of his own making.
Variation of pace does more to deceive a
batsman than anything else, an d in recom
mending this method to the young reader,
I do not mean that one should endeavour
to bowl six different kinds of balls in every
over . That would be an act of madness.
Neither would I adviso a fast bowler to
pu t on an extra spurt to g et one in a bit
faster. Nothing is more likely to " take
it o u t " of him. But if, without any
apparent change in delivery, a fast bowler
can send up one which is a little slower and
which hangs in the air a fraction of a second
longer, he is fairly certain to get valuable
wickets .
I have known one or t wo first-class
bowlers who were absolut ely marvello us
at this art of deception, and quite one half
of their wickets were secured b y deliveries
which were rather slower than usual. In
all these cases there was the same run, the
same action, th e same elevation ; an d so
sure were th e batsmen of gett ing th e same
paced ball that they either played far too
soon or were comp letel y beaten. The late
George Lohmann was particularly clever in
this deception, and it was almost astonish
in g to see the number of really great
cricketers who got out through playing at
the ball either r idicu lous ly early, or " hour s ' '
t oo late, simply through his magnificent
^iiguise in pace.
Although, in the course of a season, w'e see
adreds of bowlers, I doub t if we can
point' to any two and say that their styles
and method s thorough ly agree. Each ha s
his o w n stylo of delivery, and imparts
perhaps one little peculiari ty, which turns
a very ordinary-looking ball into a terror.
Ye t , if yo u asked him how to get that extra
bi t of pace directly after the ball leaves
the pitch, or that little bit of " kick " which
makes th e batsm an almos t afraid to playforward, he will probably tell you, if he is
truthful, that he doesn't kno w. Therefore
the bowler cann ot be made who will have
sufficient " d e v i l " in his deliveries to be
styled a really first-class man.
I have not the slightest intention of
crying down perseverance and energy in
this department of the game ; for although
the natural born bowler takes to bowl ing
much in the same way as a duck takes to
water, it must not be forgotten that it is
on ly b y very great perseveran ce and hard
work with muscle and brain that he will
ever make a reputation worthy of the gift
he possesses.
Of course, gettin g break on a ball, and,
at the same time, keeping anything like a
length, requires seasons of practice before
the combination can be anywhere near
perfect, bu t it is one of the greatest mistakes
in the world to make a ball " d o " t o o
much. I t will generally be found that th e
amount of break imparted to a ball is
governed by the pace at which it is
delivered.
On e frequently hears of So-an d-so bow ling
at a t remendous pace and gett ing yards of
break on . This is absolutely ridiculous !
Pace and break seldom g o together, and
however clever a really fast bowler is, he
cannot hope to retain his pace and impart
break at the same time. As a rule, th e
fast bowler who makes a ball c o m e back
an inch or t wo cou ld not do otherwise. His
break is th e most natural th ing in the worldand he canno t poss ibly plead guil ty t o
t rying for it. It comes with his arms.
Slow and medium-paced bowlers get most
work on the ball. I am afraid, if they
didn ' t , our capta ins wou ld onl y want tho se
with pace.
M r. Schwarz, the great " googl ie " bowler
of the South African team, openly boasted
of his unsuccessful efforts when he first
a t tempted to imita te Mr. Bosanqu et 's style.
For weeks he persevered in the nets of the
Wanderers ' Club at Johannesburg wi thout
gett ing a ball within yards of the wicket.
Other cricketers used to assemble in order
to play off their latest jokes at him. But
it made no difference —Mr. Schwa rz kept
on and , so he says, when a ball did go
inside the net he was cheered to the echo .
In the summer of 1907 he proved himself
not only the finest " googl ie " bowler in the
wor ld , but the most successful bowler of
all kinds.
H o w much easier it should be for an
under-hand bowler to get pract ice and
acquire a certain amount of proficiency than
it was for Mr. Schwarz and his " googlies " !
The next article in this series will be entitled,
" S O M E ADVICE UPON FIELDING."
X X X
T h e S o n of* an
A n a r c h i s t :A T a l e o f S t r a n g e M y s t e r y
Wild A d v e n t u r e .
By W. A. B. CLEMENTSON, M.A.,
Author of " .4 Couple of Stamps," etc.
and
CH AP TER xix.—[continued}
EEING the men
c o m e on un-
checked , with a
yel l of mingled
rage and fear,
R o n a l d a n d
Bobb ie both tired
blind ly at the
c rowd . The two
scouts were nicely
cornered, for the
anarchists were
c lose upon them,
cut t ing off all
escapo in t ha t
direction. Sud
denly R o n a l d
thought of the
window behind them overloo king the pond.
" Q u i c k , B o b b i e ! " he cried. " Ou t of
the w ind ow ! J u m p ! "
B o b b i e , who had been trained to o b e y
orders, promptly cl imb ed into the w i ndow ,
— A MIDNIGHT MEETING.
shut his eyes and j umped , fo l lowed hastilyby R ona l d and another wild volley from the
anarchists. With a splash they both fell
into the water, which wa s fairly deep, and
struck out for the oppo site bank. The y were
not yet out of danger, for the men were
still firing from tho w i ndow ; but neither
of them thought of that .
"Spl ash ! Splash ! Splash ! " T he anarchists
were fol lowing their example and plunging
into the pond !
" They must b e very anxious to take
us alive ," though t Rona ld. " T hey cou ld
easily shoot us f rom the w i ndow ."
B y no w the t wo scouts had emerged
dripping from the water, and s tar ted to run
towards the en d of the l i t t le valley in which
th o ruin stood, heedless of the shots from the
automatic pistols, and heedless, too, for the
moment , of the man they had tried to save.
Presently Ronal d noticed that the anarch
ists were not pur suing them and t ha t the shots
were being fired in quite a different direc-
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 12/16
540 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.
tion . Som e of the anarchists were making a
wild dash for libe rty, but the men seeme d to
be divided among themselves, for a few were
still stan ding in the wi nd ow of the ruin and
round the edge of tho pon d. But what
astonished the boys mos t of all was to see
Luigi free and unharm ed appar ently talking
amicably with his late foes.
The two boys paused for breath in theshadow of a tree as so on as the y saw t hey
were not being fo l lowed . Was it possible
that the y had escape d not ice after all and
that th e anarchists had lost sight of th em
in the co nfu sion ? If so the y mig ht still get
r
away safely. Then Ronald thought of
L u i g i ; they must do something at once t o
save him.
Afte r talking i t o ver quietly with Bobb ie
he dec ide d to find a safe hiding -pla ce first of
all, wher e the y migh t wait till the y h ad
fo rmed som e satisfactory plan of action .
T h e y were abou t to mov e on, when they
were startled by an unexpected sound from
th e anarchists in the ruin—the blast of a
policeman's whistle.
Sudd enly an i dea came to Ronal d— The
men in possession of the building were not
anarchists at all, but policemen in plainclothes, wh o had lain in amb ush an d
surprised tho scound rels, thus dr iv ing
them to seek safety b y jum pin g from the
window. He communica ted h is suspic ion
t o B o b b i e , who with his usual impetuos i ty
suggested that they shoidd creep quietly
back and watch the men without themselves
being seen.
So the two daring youngsters crawled
back among the bushes till they were within
earshot of the group of men with whom
Luigi stoo d. Luigi was tell ing them some
thing and on e of the me n was mak ing notes
in a pocket -boo k. Rona ld soon heard
enough to confirm his theory and set their
doubts a t r es t ; so the t wo boys rose up a nd,
walking forward, made their presence known
to the m en.
Luigi recognised them at once .
" Ah , my tw o scout friends," said he ,
" yo u ha ve arriv ed just in time to hear an
exci ting sto ry. I ca me here, as I told yo u I
should, and found it was an anarchist trap.
Luck i ly , how ever , my friend here, Inspe ctor
Rivers of Scotland Yard, was before them
and had posted his men in hiding-places all
round the ruins, so the trappers were
themselves ent rapped. "
" But, unforl unately, we have not captur ed
any of the m," said Inspector Rive rs, wh o
was standing near. " Th ey all ju mpe d
from the wi ndo w into tho water and got
away . I fan cy, howe ver, we must havewo u n d e d so me of them . I wish I ha d
caught that dwarf . I hav e an old sco re to
settle with him. But what mad e yo u tw o
boys c o m e here ? "
" W e saw the noti ce in the pape r, sir,"
{Tn be continued.)
said Ro na ld . " An d, as the boy who is missing
is a fellow scout of ours, we thought we'd
c o m e here on the chance of finding where he
was , and so we hid in that wi n d o w. ' '
" I n that win dow ! Then you must have
been here all the tim e ''. " said the asto nish ed
officer.
" Yes, and Bobbie fired the first shot."
"I couldn ' t s tand that beast ly dwarf any
longer," said Bobb ie apologeti cally. " I
heard all he said to yo u, Mr. Costa, and I
only wish I had killed him."
" W e l l , " said Rive rs, when he had heard
the whole story , " yo u bo y scouts seem to
have pl enty of plu ck; what with
carrying dy namit e bom bs and
layin g ambus hes for anarohists,
y o u ' v e given the police a hard
job to kee p up with you . But if
you' l l take my advice you won ' t
c o m e on an exp edition l ike this
again without telling some one in
authority. W e might have shot
y o u ourselves in mistake fo»
anarchists."B y no w the other men ha d
assembled at the ruin in answer to
the inspector's whistle ; there were
eight in all, for the boys had only
seen a few of them arrive.
T h e y confessed that the anarch
ists had eluded them for the
pres ent; but Rivers , after re
ceiving the repo rt of each man as
I he ca me in, gav e them all clear
j, instruc tions for a thor oug h search
I to be ma de ever3'where for Pa ol o
!!
and his captors . Meanwhile, he
I decided to make the rain hi s
| headquarters for the present, so
i that if anything should be
discovered by the search -party it
might be at once reported to
him.
The Inspector then sent Luigi,
Rona ld an d Bobb ie to a neigh
bouring cottage with his official
card and a request that they
might be made comfo rtable t i l l
the morning. The tenant of the
cot tage , a game-keepe r, brought
the m in to his kit che n and l it a fire,
while his wife made them some hot
tea, whi ch cheered th em gre atly ;
and after this the two boys rolled
themselves up in a rug on the floor
and Luigi fell asleep in his chair.
No n e of them wo ke till the sunlight
was strea ming in at t he win dow and the
keepe r was begi nnin g his breakfast .
Jus t then there wa s a kno ck at the door
and one of Inspe ctor Rivers ' men appeared
with a note, which he said a little boy had
g iven him, for Luigi. Luigi started up and,
taking the note, opened i t nervously, for he
thou ght he recognised the writ ing.
" Luigi Costa," said the letter, " once more
you have betrayed us. Therefore, by the time
you receive this letter, your son Paolo will be
dead. S . G . L . "
Luigi gave a hoars e c ry , staggered an 1
raised his hand to his head ; and as he d'd
so , somet hing fell from the letter a n d
fluttered t o the gro und . It was a lock if
Pao lo ' s b r o wn hair !
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 13/16
C Y C L I N G F O R T H E A ^ O N T H •. M A Y .
A P a g e f o r t h e " B . O . P . " W h e e l m a n .
T O S T cyc l is ts
ar e fond of
compar ing no tes
as to their experi-
e n c e s . A n d ,
talking with ma ny
of the youngerriders, I have
frequently heard
s o me of them
compla in t ha t
they can never
get really c o m
for table when
seated in the
saddle . Now that ,
of course, is some
th ing that ought cer tainly to be remedied
at once. For , as one may say, if yo u are
not comf ortable when r iding, whate ver is
th e use of cont inu ing to cycle at all,
seeing that you cannot poss ib ly be t ru ly
enjoying yourself when so doin g ? Beside s
which, an uncomfor tab le cyc le saddle may
be quite dangerous to you from a health
point of view. S o this is, we see, quite a
serious question, and one that well warrants
our inquiring into it.
Th e impor tan t thing to r ememb er in
connect ion with your cycle saddle, is t ha t
the rider's weight is int ende d to be born e
b y the broad part of the saddle, and that th e
peak of the saddle is int ende d ma in ly for
steadying purposes. A bicycle saddle is
not a mere perch, for you are meant to sit
fairly and squarely upon it, just the same
as you do on a chair, ex ce pt t ha t th e fore
part of the se.it is, as it were, cut aw ay to
allow your legs to go straight dow n to the
pedals, and this it is t ha t forms the peak
o f the saddle. If yo u had no need to balance
the bicycle when r iding it , you might,indeed, use a saddle t ha t was all broad part
only, and had no peak, thou gh t ha t wo u ld
certainly not be so conv enie nt for pedalling.
And yet, not a few riders there are who
alw ays sit on tho peak of the s addl e, hun g
o u t there, it has been said, like a clothes-peg
on a line, whic h descr ibes it beauti fully .
Y o u can generally identify these individual s
b y remarking spots of mud upon the leather
of the rear part of their saddles . The bac k
wheel has thrown up mud, and this mud has
fallen upon the leather of the br oad part of
the saddle whil e the rider was sitting " hung
o u t " on the peak. Ha d he been sitting
properly on the saddle those mu d spots
would have been on his jac ket inste ad.
Sitting upon the peak of th e sad dlecauses you to feel
al l, the slightest
shocks and all the
vibration of travel
ling over the un
e v e n surface of the
road, which jarring
and bumping is
thus communi
cated direct to
y o u r body . An d
d o not forget this,
t h a t when hung out on the pe ak, yo u are
practically r iding upon one saddle-spring
only , instead of upon three saddle-springs
as have been provid ed for you , and s o are
actu ally throwing awa y two-th irds of theseadvantages . N o wonder t h a t so many
fe l lows, wh o sit on the peak, gr ow l that
cycl ing is hard work and all t ha t sort of
thi ng. Th e fault is their own, and to r emedy
it, they should " get back a b i t " in their
seats when awheel.
If yo u should feel any pressur e fro m the
By RAYMO ND RAIFE.
peak af ter y ou have been r iding som e time
on the saddle, a remedy may often be found
in rais ing the peak s lightly. Tha t seems
ra ther cur ious , docs it no t ? but y ou will
understand what happens . In r iding, yo u
have been slipping dow n on to the peak,
becau se the peak was set to o lo w. B y raisin gthe peak a little , you keep yourself back on
the broad part , or cantl e, as it is cal led, of
the saddle, and thus are occ up yin g the scat
in the man ner for whic h it was intended,
and you wall then be qu i te comfor tab le .
Natur ally enough , yo u must not go to
the other extreme, and set the peak too
high, or else, besides other troubles , you
will be spending all your time when awheel
in clinging on to the handlebars , tryi ng
to draw yourself forwa rd over the pedals .
A v e r y little adjus tment mak es all the
difference in the mat te r of saddle comfor t ,
and saddle comfor t is so imp ort ant to the
cycl i s t t ha t he is well advi sed in spendi ng
any amo unt of time and trouble in attain ing
it . Speaki ng for myself as quite a veteran
at the game, I know that , ehanging about
f rom the o ld high b icyc le to the " safety,"
to the " Kangaroo " pat tern, to the tr icycle,
to th e p n e u ma t i c " o r d i n a r y " a n d to
the air-shod rear driver of to- day, I ha ve
sometimes been pos i t ive ly months before
I c o u l d get my saddle
prope rly adjusted. So
keep on exper iment ing
unti l you are as cosy
as on a cushion ; every
fellow has just one
saddle angle t ha t
e x a c t l y suits him, and
he has got to find it.
N o doubt you wil l
k n o w t ha t the height
of the saddle should be
such t h a t the r ider 's
legs ma y remai n s till
s lightly bent even
when the pedal is at
its lowest point. Anot her wa y of pu t t ing
this is to say t ha t , when the saddle is
adjust ed to its corr ect height, the r ider
can comf ort abl y p ' .aee his heel on the
pedal at its lowest point, and wit hout
shif ting in the sa do b. Wh en in any dou bt
on the subject, bear in mind t ha t it is much
better to sit low rather than high. Most
bicycles , as the y are now made, have a
fair ly long wheel base, and, as a general
rule, most riders are suited when the saddle
peak is nearly ver tic al over the crank
axle , and with the peak fixed so as to be,say, half an inch higher than the saddle
cantle . Ther e is , how ever , no absol ute
rule. Ea ch one, to gain full com for t,
should experiment for himself .
A quite astonishing eccentr icity of some
cycl i s t s is how they persis tently r ide to
the same places , instead of usir g their
b icyc le s for , as I may say, exploring a
c o u n t y . For instance, I last year questioned
one you th, wh o, up to the time he wen t
holid aying in Aug ust, had put in twen ty
Saturday af te rnoon t r ips awheel . I n those
t w e n t y tr ips he had vis ited only five different
places , going straight along the main roa d
to each and ba ck again, week- end af ter
we e k - e n d , without change .
Explor in g a county , the county yo ul ive in, or else one neai to it, is half the
j oy of cycl ing ! Even Middlesex , t ha t
has enormous London tak ing up so great
a part of it , has doze ns of beaut y spots
if the cycli st will onl y go an d find th em .
A n d on e of the best plans for finding bea ut y
spots is to go lane r iding .
V e r y likely there is some main road near
y o u , which you, as a cyclis t, by now know
v e r y well indee d. Tha t be ing so, the
nex t time yo u go out, just g et on to t ha t
same old road, but, keeping your eyes open,
turn do wn the f irs t inviti ng-lo oking lane
t ha t y o u c o me to , and fo l low it . So doing ,y o u will disc over yourself to be penetrat ing
deeper and deeper
into the real c o u n ty
the farther y o u
wheel a long . Lanes ,
not cut up by con
tinuous traff ic , only
here and there
p l o u g h e d in to ruts
b y farm carts , of ten
afford sp lendid
g o i n g ; there are more trees and flowers
and more birds to see there t han on the
o p e n road , more quaint bits and noo ks, and
little streams and watersplashes to cross ,
m o r e odd ancient cottages and tucked-aw ay,
rambling, picturesque, old farms.
It was when I myself was once explor ing
a quiet English lane, t ha t—I nearl y f ell off
m y b icyc le !—I su dde nly saw, just in front
of me, a zebra calml y looki ng ove r a hedge.
I t was a tam e one, kept as a pet. I c ann ot
reasonably promi se you any numbe r of
surprises like t ha t if yo u go lane ridin g,
but I can, and do, assert t ha t you will
e n j o y a b l y see much t ha t other r iders
miss .
A piece of s tou t ca rdboard hav ing a
semi-c i rc le cut ou t of its ed ge, is v er y
c o n v e n i e n t for r emov ing mud f rom tyres
when cleanin g the ma chin e.
Cycle tyres are made of pre t ty t o u g h
mater ial, but, for all t ha t , they have their
peculiar itie s . Th ey should never be need
lessly exposed to h e a t ; so avo id keepi ng
the bi ke in a pla ce whe re the dir ect rays
of the sun will fall upon th o tyres , or ,
equally important, where the fumes of
burnt gas can reach them, both of which
ten d to per ish the tyres .
If, at a cyc le depot or elsewhere, you
hav e the curios ity to use a pressure-gauge
when inf lating your tyres , you will see
t ha t , when proper ly pum ped up , the ty res
s h o w a pressure of f rom twen ty-f ive t o
thi r ty pou nds to the square inch. T o get
the best result out o f your b icyc le wh e n
riding it , have the front tyre pumped not
quite so hard as the back ty re . Wi tho ut
a pressur e gau ge, the be st way to test
degree of inf lation is to press your two
thumbs on the t r ead of the tyre whilegras ping the rim wit h the fingers. W he n
y o u r thu mbs mak e only a s light depression
in the tyre, the
inf lation is abo ut
r i g h t . T y r e s
pum ped " board
hard " destroy all
s m o o t h and easy
running of the
ma c h in e ; i f wo r n
at all, too, they
m a y then burst
when exposed to
the heat of the sun.
W h e n yo u are seated in the saddle, y ou r
b a c k tyre, as view ed by anoth er cycl is t
r iding behin d you , should be onl y to the
v e r y least ext ent flattened out up on the
road . I f it flattens m o r e than that , it is
t o o soft. An d, besides increased liability
to punc ture , the obj ect ion to sof t t yres
is that , used in t ha t s tate, the rubb er and
fabr ic soon separate from each other and
so the tyre quickl y wears out. Wh en yo n
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 14/16
542 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.
are in the saddle, and l ook d o wn , y o u r
back tyro should appear bulged out jus t
a l i t t le where it touc hes the ground . I f
it does so tha t mu ch an d n o mor e it is
a b o u t right.
I t is general ly some whe re abou t this
time of the year tha t I
s o me y o u t h
who, get-
d e c e n t f o r mon hi s b icy -
f ancies tha t
m a k e a
man if he
branch of
My confi
dential hint to any fe l low who finds himself
hankering after the path game, is to go to
a cycle r ac ing t rack , take a training ticket
fo r one evening , and see how he shapes
when r iding with th ose cyclis ts wh o are
training on the track there. The exper iment
is , as a rule, sufficient to take the conceit
out of the too ambitious novice , and he
goes back to the good old road all the better
fo r havi ng ma de it .
Cycle path racing is und oub ted ly a very
fine f o r m of sport. I have kno wn personally
dozens of splendid athletes who have been
prom inent at it . One of these mo n th s ,
may be, I will te ll you some g o o d stor ies
of their prowess, including a tale of howit took me two days to put into position,
ready for phot ogra phin g them , all the
prizes w on by one well -kno wn amateur.
But to the ord inary everyday rider, m y
a d v i c e is : s tick to the road. I f your
misplaced yearning happens to be tha t y o u
want to bec ome a pot-hunter and spend
all your spare m o m e n t s training hard in
ord er to win pla ted butter -dish es, fish-
carvers , jam-jars , and all tha t sort of thing,
well, of course, tha t is yo ur own affair.
B u t , take it f rom me, that everlasting
churning round and round a special cycle
t rack is a ve ry dull way of enj oyi ng you rself.
I had a little chat the other day with
Mr. Ya ug ht on , of the firm of Messrs.
V a u g M o n Ltd . of Bir mingh am, the famous
m e d a l l i s t s
makers . Mr.
formed m e
time of the
f irm a r eturning out
badges, and
kindly let me
specimens of
r eproduc t ion
As you will
much variety
and badge
Vaughtonin-
that at this
y e a r h i s
always busycycl ing c lub
h e v e r y
have a few
t h e s e f o r
in our pages ,
see, there is
in their de
sign, and som e of the m are truly picturesque
in appearance. Besides badges for British
clubs , Messrs . Vaughton supply quantities;
of badges to cycli ng clubs overseas, quite
a large numbe r goi ng to South Af rica.
1*&
U n d e rA Story
th e E d g e of th e E ar tho f T h r e e C h u m s a n d a S t a r t l i n g Q u e s t .
By F. H. BOLTON,
Author of " In the Heart of the Silent Sea," etc.
R A W I N G u p a
chair , Hector
Brant sat at
his lonely
table, hisbreakfast be
fore him. At
the side of
hi s plate wa s
a circular
and an un
o p e n e d let
ter. It was
c h a r a c t e r
istic of the
man tha t the circular received attention first.
" Y ou someti mes dr op on the very thing
y ou are looking for ," he woul d say, anent
this former class of postal c ommu nica tio n,
add ing wit h a whim sica l smile, " and oftener
you d o n ' t ! " Wh e th e r this was one of the
rarer occasions when he had dropped uponwhat he wanted m ay be open to d ou bt ;
but the circul ar certa inly set him thin king.
He stopped with a piece of ba con half-way
to his mouth, and casting a sidelong glance
at the paper began a low solilo quy.
" Half of the m are frauds, wre tche d
frauds "—the particular document under
consideration painted in glowing terms th e
chances lying in wait for those who were
l u c k y enough to obtain shares in the Chu-
quitawa Copper Mines about t o be prospec ted
in one of the South Ame rica n Rep ubl ics —
" you pay your money and—there ' s an end
of it, s o far as you're c o n c e r n e d . "
The baco n got an upwa rd lif t and reached
its destinat ion. A gul p fro m a cup of
coffee, and he began again." Perhaps—perhaps "—his eyes lit up —
" some day / shall reach the goal. Som e
d a y ma y b e I shall be out in tho full light.
I believe I ' m winning through pretty
q u i c k l y now. An d once my little plans are
perfected, no mor e mine investments in the
dark ! I t ' l l be g o o d b y e to all hum bug in
such prospectuses."
C H A P T E R I X . P L E A S E C O M E !
He crumpled up the paper in question
and flung it in to a was te- pap er ba sket in the
corner of the room.
" You may be all right, my fr iend," he
mused ; " but anyw ay, I ' m n ot looking forshares. I 've someth ing pretty big of my
own under wa y and I fan cy I ' m not so very-
far off success, either. Still, it's got to be
wary walking, and no crowing too loud, or
to o ear ly ."
I n these last-muttered words lay the ex
planation of muc h of the man's apparent
secretiveness. That easy, off- handed w ay of
his of making statements which startled,
and ye't were backed up by no proofs or
apologies, might well be a natural an d
ingenious met hod of letting off s team without
disclosing too much the source of his power
or know ledg e. As thou gh having relieved
his mind of a strain that threatened to be
to o great, he poo h-pooh ed the matter , an d
treated it henceforth as of no acco unt.He turned now to the letter by his hand.
The handwriting upon the envelope was
eviden tly unfamiliar , but he tore the cover
open with out undue sh ow of interest. H e
had hardlj' begun to read the letter, how ever,
ere his bro ws con tr act ed angrily and he
uttered an impatie nt excla matio n.
" I 'm a babbling idiot, after all, it seems ! "
he gro wle d to himself. " I ' ve gone as close
t o letting the cat out of the bag as it's
possible to go without allowing it to get
off altogether . I 'v e done jus t what any
excitabl e child might ha ve been expec ted
to do . W hy on earth coul dn' t I have kept
m y silly tongu e betw een m y teeth ! W h y
on earth "
He threw the letter on the ta ble in hisdisgust, and placing both elbow s upon the
clo th leaned his face upon his hands, giving
himself up to deep thoug ht.
" I 'm getting garrulous," he said at last,
aloud, " beco min g a ver itable chatter ing
m a g p i e ! Go o d gracious, what'11 I be
saying next, I wond er ! I expec t I ' ve been
to o much absorbed, and weakened my own
control over that silly babbling member
that gets most of us into more trouble than
enou gh. I want a chang e of tho ught fo r a
bit, a to tal chang e of thou ght, o r it ' ll end in
m y not being res ponsible f or m y owntongue ! "
He did not by any means look th e
chattering creature he affected to consider
himself. The strong bro w and firm chin
would giv e no such impres sion to any
discerning stranger. B u t Brant put a
higher standard of reserve before himself
than most men are accus tom ed to do. He
picked up the letter once more, and read it
impatiently in a low mutter ing tone, inter
spersed with his own comm ents :—
" ' I 've heard about that little touch of
yours : yo u can' t s top these things getting
abou t, can yo u ? . . . H o w muc h of it was
guess-work ? '—mighty little , you impertinent
hou nd !— ' Ther e's a fortu ne in it as a news
paper cha p.' . . . H 'm ! Is there ? I 'mnot looki ng out for fortunes as a newsp aper
chap, thank goodn ess !— ' If yo u can only
play the tr ick when yo u like —'. . . 'Po n
m y word, the fellow, whoever he is, doesn't
want for nerv e ! . . . ' Wh at do you say
to joining me in a venture ? I could work
th e printing and publishing part of the show,
and y ou could do this fireworks trick with
news that no bo dy had half a noti on of. ' . . .
Could I, my friend ? I ' d like to have yo u
here for five lively minutes . I 'd teach you
to talk ab ou t tri cks and fireworks ! "
In a sudden fury he tore the offending
epistle into fragments and flung them from
him.
" All this," he grow led savagel y, " because
I must needs make that childish exhibitionto the boys last term , I suppose . I might
have known that s tatement about the
Ameri can railway smash either wouldn ' t
wash, or else would wash till all the co lours
ran and made it l ook mi ght y curious in the
eyes of most folk. An d no w, here 's this
impuden t and unknow n idiot. Bah ! Yo u
want a chang e, my boy —a week or two in
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 15/16
Under the Edge of the Earth. 543the Pyrenees, or a jaunt in North Africa
amon gst the M oors— just to jerk you out of
yourself and br ush all the sill}- cobwebs
awa y from yo ur t ired brain."
He made a hasty finish to his bachelor
breakfast and rang for his housek eeper.
" I ' m going away, Mrs. Post lewi t ," h e
remarke d, as the worth}- lady bustled in
in response to his summons.
" Thi s ve ry mo rnin g, sir ? " was herstartled query .
She tried hard not to be astonished. She
was, indeed, always trying, a nd nev er with
any success.
" Yo u can' t ever tell what 's com ing next
with the master," she would tell her intimates
in confid ence over a social cu p in her own
room, " it takes me all m y time to k eep
up with him."
T h e y expressed a natural sympathy wi th
th e good soul, sayin g to her that they were
sure i t must—say ing to each other, later,
that they knew she never really di d ke ep up
with him but was always some consid erable
distance in the rear of his erratic mo v e
ments. Therefore her question, " This ver y
morn ing , sir ? " was conveyed in a dist inctlyastonished tone of voice .
Mr , Brant smiled.
" N o ," he said, " I'll give you a da y or so
to get over i t . I 'v e some wor k I want to
finish, a nd I'll d o that first: and then I ' l l
take three weeks or so fro m the da y after
to-morrow. Yo u can go to friends if yo u
wish, either to-night or to- mo rro w mo rning .
I'll see to my own wants for the few re
maining hours."
Mrs. Postlewit made a little bow, and
" thanked h im kindly , " conv eying both
her determination to avail herself of the
proffered holid ay, an d her relief at bein g
released before her master himself was gone.
According to her own account she never
could bide being alone over- night in the
place, it " give her the fair cre eps ."
Whatever i t gave the amiable Mrs. Postle
wit , i t certainly gav e unlimite d delight to the
lads who were favou red w ith an invita tion
from Brant to visit him in his own quarters,
and it is safe to say not one of them would
ever have thought twic e if asked to mak e
himself free of the pla ce, eve n if alon e thro ugh
a whole night. Bu t the master was too
jealous of his possessions to allow such
untrammelled licence.
The radiometer, which had lately been
added to his curios of science, never failed
to interest them , although to the house
keeper the thing was " wish t," or unc anny .
Sh e could not be made to understand h o w
the t iny discs should rev olve by the mere
actio n of light, and w as no t back wa rd inattributing their movements to agency the
reverse of celestial . No r could she see
" a bit o' good " in the rack of emulsion-
covered plates set upon his sidebo ard, and
used in connection with a series of experi
ments upon l ight waves. And she con
sidered it " fair ma d " to ad orn the sam e
useful piece of furniture with a glass dome
which acted upon occasion as cove r t o
var ious ly s ized soap-bubbles , employed by
her mast er—th ough she herself kn ew it
not—for the study of colour p h e n o me n a .
• " Ho w them bubbles lasts so long is
past my powers of tel l ing," she remark ed
more than once, knowin g nothing of the
advantage s of soap and glycerine for this,
when properl y mixe d. Inde ed, the presenoe
of " them bubbly th i ngs " was a lways a
" worri t " to th e poor lady, for Brant h ad
urged extreme carefulness in movement
whenever he had occasion to place them
there ; an d under such care he had at time s
pres erved the gracef ul, filmy glo bes for a
week or more before they vanish ed.
The room, too , held odd groups of pre served
sk in s; cases of butterflies and mo ths —
not wor ked into fantastic and unnatural
patterns, but with each insect poised in
i t s r ight fu l sur roun dings ; and occas ional
b i rds ' nests with their eggs, under glass
covering s to keep the m from the disfiguring
dust. But all these, in spite of their
departure f rom ugly or tho dox y of se t t ing ,
called for no comments from the house
keeper . Her greatest horror was reservedfo r the l iving inmates of the house and
garden.
Perhaps the large aquarium, containing
specimens from the pond s and ditche s ro unu
Lunech ester, foun d no activ e disfavou r in
her eye s. Afte r all, an aqu ari um is a fairly
common ob jec t of interest, albeit perhaps
not one so well stoc ked as Mr. Brant 's . Bu t
the herbariu m w ith i ts bri l l iantly colo ured
grass-snakes crawlin g in and out b etwe en
the stones and grasses, and its little l izards
darting disqui etingly to and fro, or standing
motionle ss in tho sunlight, prot rudin g n ow
and again a t iny forked tongue to catch the
unwa ry an d w ell-nigh invisib le fly, was mo re
than sh e cou ld " abi de." In her opi nion ,
good soul, i t " wasn' t Christ ian t o clutter
yourself with ali them creepy-crawly beasts."
But when her mast** brought back from one
of his country rambles, one afternoon, a
coup le of wee, soft-furred bats, and pro pose d
to give the m the run of the attic , in the
strange hop e of even some da y taming the
cur ious little creatur es, she set her foot
down,—and it was not a fairy foot.
" Bless yo u, sir , they're unl uck y ! " was
her horrified excl ama tion . " I dursen' t bide
in the house with them thing s."
She- was so evi de ntl y in earnest that
Brant relucta ntly g ave in to her unreason ing
prejudice, and al lowe d the wee, winged
mites to flit on their noiseless way in the
open. Afte r all , he had a hedg eho g in the
garden which would come e v e r y mo r n i n g
fo r its saucer of bread and milk, and there
was in one corner of the little plot of ground
a p lush-coated , burrowing mole, whose
digging proclivit ies were confined to a
l imi ted area ; a nd, all things c onsid ered, he
had plenty and to spare of interests both in
natural history and in scie nce ; so the bats
might go .
He had neve r b efor e left the pl ace for so
long as he no w prop osed . There were the
living denizens to attend to, and the
thought struck him that p e r h a p s K e n n e d y
would give an eye to bot h tho house an d
the l ive sto ck during his abse nce. He
k n e w the l ad to be grea tly inte reste d in
a ll t h i ng s p e r
taining to natural
his tory—more sothan in things
scientific. Ken
nedy had often
been a favoured
visitor when a
p u p i l a t t h e
school, an d Brant
was no t the ma n
to lose touch
with a lad simp ly
because that b o y
m i g h t b e n o
longer und er his
care as teach er.
H e r e m e m -
bered that t o
m or ro w b e i n g
Wednesday the
bank would close
early. He wou ld
r u n d o w n t o
K e n n e d y ' s h o m e
this evening and
invite him to
take a stroll on
t he fol lowing afternoon, when they m ight
hav e a pleasant chat. Wh en evenin g cam e,
however , he had remained a bsor bed in his
work t i l l somewhat late before he remem
bered what he had in tende d to do . He
was even then abo ut to sally forth just as
a sharp knock sounded a t the door . T h e
sum mon s was answered b y Mrs. Postlewit ,
and the next mom en t he heard her agitated
footsteps in the passage, and her own quick k n o c k at the door of his r o o m.
" A te legram, s i r ! " she je rked out .
Telegrams were prac t ica l ly unknown in
this house, and the arrival of this particular
one frig hten ed the easily flustered old soul
pretty nearl y out of her wi ts.
Brant too k tho buff -coloured envelop e wi th
an air of indiffer ence that astou nded his house
keeper b ey on d words, but as he read the
mes sage his non cha lan ce vanish ed in a flash.
" G o o d graci ous ! " he exclai med.
H e read it again : then began once mo r e
in the u nderto ne so often used b y the man
who spends much t ime in h is own com pan y.
" T o o full , as usual, of my ow n conc erns ,
and hard ly finding t ime to give a thou ght
to the t roub les of my friends . . ."" Not bad news, sir , I sincerely hope and
trust ? " panted Mrs . Pos t lewi t . " Yo u
haven ' t heard anything about that poor
y o u n g Mr. Hu tto n ? D on ' t tell me he's
dea d, sir ; oh, do n' t tell me he's de ad ! "
Brant shook his head a little impat ient ly .
Mrs. Pos t lewi t , good soul, was apt to be
mo r e than a little incoherent at t imes, and
t o irritate him . H e ans wer ed at first with
something of annoyance .
" I ' m no t goin g to tell yo u he's dead, so
please bo quiet . If he were dead, thoug h,
1 don' t see how my not tel l ing you would
make i t any better ."
Then, seeing that his words were hurting
the loquac ious but kindl y creature, h e
changed his tone.
" I beg you r pardo n: I spoke more
sharply than I oug ht to hav e don e. But
it ' s a sad business, and I really don' t know
what to mak e of things. I ma y have t o
chan ge my plans ; I c an' t q uite tel l yet .
A t all events, I wo n' t interfere with
yours , Mrs. Postle wit . No ! There's nothi ng
further k n o wn a b o u t y o u n g H u t t o n , I ' m
sor ry to say. It ' s a sad business, a sad
business for all concerned."
Fo r the message was the wild appeal of
Leon ard Morr i s :
" W e want yo u badly at Gr ay b Hal l .
Den nis still mis sing : no clu e. Pl ease
c o me . "
(To be continued.')
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-may-24-1913 16/16
544 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.
Our Rote Book and Open Column.
A F I N G E R - P O S T F O B A I B M E N .
PROBABLY the mo at cur iou s finger-post in the wo rl d
has just been erected near Lond on at Mas on' s Hill ,
Brom le y , K e n t . I t i s e i ghte e n feet h igh and has b ig
p a in t ed m od e ls o f a m ot or cyc le an d m on op lan e , a n don the top is a mo de l of a bipl ane in full flight. On
the finger poi nti ng to Se ve no ak s is the inscr iptio n
"H a s t i n gs an d P ar i s " ; on t h e on e p o in t in g in t h e
op p os i t e d irec t ion " To Lo n d on an d Joh n o ' G roat s ,"
while the th ird reads " Cro ydo n an d Lan d's End ."
U S E Y O U R E Y E S .
CAPTAIN TOWSE, V. C. , pres id ing at a Lectur e onM
Bird s " g iven b y t h e H on . N . C . Rot h s ch i ld a t Clayes -
m ore S ch ool , P an gb ou rn e , re f err in g t o Cap t a in S cot t
an d t h e An t arc t i c Exp ed i t ion , s a id : —
" W h e n we arriv e at a certain age we all kno w, or
shoul d kno w, wha t it is to under go har dship , b ut the
hardshi p in conseque nce of the tena city of purpo se
of the se explor ers mus t hav e been trul y awful . I t is
a sad thing, b ut it is a thing th at has left a less on for
t h e wh ole cou n t ry . I t s h ou ld t each you , t h e you n ger
genera t ion, to do yo ur best , as yo u can now for you r
School , and for you r cou ntry whe n you gro w older.
Th e great t h in g t o rem em b er i s t h at l i t t le wor d of fourle tters o n l y , D U T Y . Thi s is a word tha t all boy s
shoul d hav e ever before the m. Y o u are all called upon
to do so me dut y even no w, and so it will be in later
life . Som et i mes it will be a self - i mposed duty , but
m o r e often it will be a duty tha t will be put up on
y o u . F ai t h f u l ad h eren ce t o th i s dut y will carry yo u
thro ugh whatev er walk of l ife yo u ad op t; it will carry
you thro ugh everythi ng, and it will carr y you thr ough
cleanly, which is the great th ing in th i s l i f e ."
Referr ing to the value of Nat ure Stu dy as a train
ing in the dev el opm ent of the ment al powers of observa
t ion , Cap t a in To ws e con t in u ed : —
" As a boy at schoo l I used to b ird's-nest , but I
di d n ot rob n e s t s ; I was bro ugh t up in a differ ent wa y.
I used to take ou t one egg at a t ime , in the hop e th at
the b ird was no t such a fool as I was, and would not
miss it. I of ten fou nd on returni ng to the nest tha t
the b ird had laid anot her egg, which I immedi ate ly
purloi ned also. I learnt a certain amo un t of kno w
ledge, and I learnt how to obse rve, part icular ly ho w
to obs erve na ture ; and a t a certain t im e of my life ,
a b o u t t wen t y- f ive years ago , th i s ob s ervat ion was
really the mea ns of savi ng my life . I was out b ig-
ga me shoot in g in India , and I came up to an ele phant ,
which I shot . Thi s elep hant had fallen leani ng up
agai nst a huge tree, with one of h is legs s lop in g d own .
Th o cust om was, and I daresa y is now , when yo u
hav e shot an elepha nt to cut of f h is tail , which show ed
that the eleph ant belonged to you.
" In those days I was stat i oned at a p lace wh ere
was an off icer who collec ted orchids , and he alw ays
asked me to collect a few orchids for h im whe n I we nt
ou t s h oot in g . A f t e r I had shot my el ephant , I sa w
s om e orch id s an d I co l l ec t ed t h em . Th e Com m an d er
was a ma n who collected th ings als o—I fancy he called
t h e m lepidnptera—and he asked me to get h im som e.
I h ad a lread y got s om e s p ec im en s o f t wo- win ged
flies, b ut I never got the righ t sort . H e wanted one
k in d p ar t icu lar ly , an d this da y I hap pene d to see a
two- wing ed f ly which 1 had never seen before. I got
a b o u t a dozen of the se ; then, arme d with my orchids ,
m y bott le and the elephant 's tail , I turned hom ewa rd.
" S u d d en ly wh at we ca l l a m on s oo n b rok e an d
obliter ated all the tracks . I wande red about , and
absol utely go t fogged ; I then bega n cutt ing trees ,
an d after cut t ing along for som e t ime I ca me across
m y former cuts , which showe d that I had been go ing
familiar. I knew that the se birds were 'going to the
tan k to fee d, so I se t to wor k to follo w as far as I
could in their d irect ion. To my i n te nse joy, af ter
travell ing for about an hour and a half, I saw the tank
an d found m y way home , pret t y t ired , and terrib ly
hungry, but alive to the fact that ha d I not know n
a b o u t the se birds and observ ed their habits , I migh t
still be in the jungle ."
T h e rema rks of Captain Tows e, who, it will be re
member ed, lost h is eyes ig ht and gained t he Victoria
Cross for h is gallant cond uct in the South African
w a r , were war ml y received by the membe rs of the
S ch ool .
T H E W I G H T B E F O R E .
* * A F i n g e r - P o s t f o r A i r m e n . "
round in a circle . I shoute d, but it was no go od at all .
I t beg an to ge t dark and to rain in torr ents, and I
thou ght I should have to f ind som e shelter, so I looked
abou t and found a holl ow tree. I got into th is , but
discove red the traces of a bear which had been ther e
ove rni ght ; so I thou ght I had bet ter get out , an d
I found another rest ing-pla ce. I was up before day
break, and I then saw some ducks, a peculiar kind of
duck which I k new fed at a tank m an y miles from
the stat ion , with t he neigh bourh ood of which I was
A S upon his couch he i
xV Br ea ms of marks , both gains and losses ,
Flit across h is troubl ed mi nd ;
W i l l he to some abstra ct quest ion
M a k e an adeq uate suggest ion,
Or his swift quietus find ?
Here' s a son in the a scendan t .
W h o m u s t b e qu i t e in d ep e n d en t —
G o n e the crib and gone the cra m;
H e mus t f ight the bat t le lonely,
There is none can help h im, only
H e , himself , at the exa m.
Sundry points that he mus t set t le:
H e igh t o f P op ocat ap e t l ,
L o n g i t u d e o f T i m b u c t o o ;
W h e n geo gra phy is done with ,
N e x t , he knows, he'l l hav e some fun with
Euclid 's probl ems not a few.
W i t h his brain a hopeless tangle,
H e mus t tackle the triangle,
Equilateral, a cute ;
The y are certain to perplex h im,
A n d P rop . F or t y- S even vex h im ,
Or a rider leav e h im mut e.
St il l , m y noble lad , while dream ing
Of tha t dread exa m., and scheming
W h a t ' s the best tha t you can do,
I dou bt not that on the mor rowF r o m the sunlight you will borrow
H o p e and cou rage to w in thro ugh I
F. J. COX.
M R . B A T :
Bal l I "
M R . BALL
heal th I "
' Y o u ' r e in for a war m time this season, Mr.
1
M a y b e ; b u t you don 't look in the best of
A n I r r e g u l a r V e r b .
TH E H E A D : " So you really mea n to tell me , Parkin son, that you cannot give me the
Lat in for ' I conquer ' ? W h y , you oug ht to kno w I "
P A R K I N S O N ( c o n f i d e n t l y ) : " U - A u t o - n o , U - A u t o - n a s , U - A u t o - n o t ; U - A u t o - n a m u s . .
THE H E A D (in an awful voi ce) : " Th at will do, sir ! . . . "
( W e draw a veil . )