Boys Own Paper 19th April 1913

8/9/2019 Boys Own Paper 19th April 1913

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-19th-april-1913 1/16

By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,

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

C H A P T E R I . — T H E " M A G G I E " R U N S A C A R G O .

IN the springtim e of the ye ar 1833 tw o men wer e

sitting outside a cottage which stood in a secluded

glen on the north-east coast of the Isle of Man.

Before them was a sto ny bea ch, raised some ten or

twelve feet abo ve the shore, and sloping gradually to

the se a; thro ugh this stony ridge a narrow river

ran. In the distance , the faint out line of theEnglish coast cou ld be discerned, and in a wide

golden expanse, under the brightness of the morning

sun, there spark led the wavel ets of the Irish Sea.

On either hand pine w o o d s rose on the hillsides,

clothing them to the summit with luxuriant growth ;

in summer time magnificent clump s of fuchsias gave

beaut y to the scene. Run nin g across the mout h of a

little natural harbou r was a huge boulde r of hard

rock. It fo rme d a brea kwate r, and within its shelter' The smugglers were carrying goods an d storing them somewhere in the

garden." (See p. 452.)



450 The toy's Qton Taper.

lay some punts and a s loop

of abou t th ir ty tons . It was

a Peel-built vessel, strong,

well made , and buo yant

enough to face the wildest

s torm.

Half concealed among the

pines, no t fifty yards from

the cottag e, was a long, l ow ,

sto ne build ing. It had aw i d e d o o r , w h i c h w a s

studd ed with iron, and was

secured with a he av y bar

and large pad lock . Wi th i ts

s tu rdy walls and n arro w

windows it looked like a

fortress. It was really a

warehouse for g o o d s which

were to be sm ugg led into

Engl and . Th e Isle of Man

had lon g been the de po t of

a regular contraband t rade

with the mainl ands of Sco t

land and Eng land.

U p o n a long can e chair in

the verandah, the taller of

the two men was reclining.

He was heavily bearded,

with da rk eyes and sun

tanned f a c e ; a man of

sl ight but powerful physique ,

with coura ge stam ped upon

every feature. Alth ough l ie

was a cripple he yet showe d

in all his movements a rest

less act ivit y. His legs had

been cut off b e l o w the knees,

and his long hair and beard

on ly part ial ly concealed th e

fact tha t ho had lost both

ears. Th e other ma n was

dressed in l oos e white robes,

• girdled with a long strip of

brightly coloured silk. His curl ed beard,

dark face and tu rban show ed him to b e of Indian birth. He was from Laho re, a Sikh

of the Indus provin ces, and the dev ote d

servant of the crippled man, John Robe rtson

Laurie.

Eight years before this time the two men

had landed at Douglas from a L o n d o n

coasting brig, bringing with them an infant

b o y of ab out tw o years of age. After a few

days Nusseer, the Si kh, set off to t r a mp th e

island, and finally disc over ed the sec luded

cott age in the Glen. He boug ht it for a fe w

pounds and the three settled there.

Eour years later Mr. Laurie purcha sed an

interest in a smuggling s l o o p , th e Maggie,

and derived a small but steady income from

his ventu re. Th e vessel was also used for

fishing and t rading, but th ose who saw her

slipping around the cliffs and steering for

England knew well tha t as a rule she carried

a cargo which the Customs officials would

have been glad to ov erhaul .

" Nussee r," said Mr. Laurie , " I had bad

news yesterday from the docto r. He gives

me no hope of recove ry. I may sl ip away

at any mome nt. My heart is worn to shreds,

and the least excitement will puff out my

life like a cand le in a wind. If it were not

fo r the lad's sake I don't know that I should

be sor ry. I hav e had my innings "

" Inning s ? " said Nusseer w ith a puzzl ed

l o o k upon his f ace . " Wh at is i nnings,

Sah ib ? "

" Don ' t yo u know ? W e l l , never mind !

1 hav e had a long day 's wo rk, and th e end is

not far off no w. "

H e paused, and l o o k e d with brood ing eyes

over the dancing, sunlit seas.

" There ' s g o o d land on the other side,

Nusse er," he said with a smile, and poi nte d to

the dim coastl ine of Engla nd.

The Sikh knew tha t he meant more than

he said, but he did not k no w ho w to rep ly.

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

Model of H . M . S . "Vi cto ry, " Nelson's Flagship.

(Royal Naval College, Greenwich.)

The famous old " Victory " (tonnage 2,1G4 tons, guns 10 0) was designed by

Sir Thomas Slade and built at Chatham Dockyard in 17 65. This vessel was

the llagship of A.dmiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), and it

was on her quarter-deck that he received a mortal wound from a shot fired

from the mizzen-top of the French ship the " Redoubt able." The " Victory "

was 40 years old at Trafalgar, but she had been reconstructed seven years

before this date , when an upper deck was added . She was again reconstructed

in 1820 . The old warship now lies at moorings on the Gosport side of

Portsmouth Harbour.

There was a lon g silence. It was brok en by

Mr . Laurie." W e were very foo l i sh , Nusseer, in

teaching the lad the Pushtoo tongue, and

the Sikh. If yo u teach the cat the way to

the dish, the milk will s o o n be gone . W e

hav e never spoke n to him of In dia, but som e

day he will feel the call of the land, and the

old s tory will be repeated." He pointe d to

his crippled legs. " I dete rmine d that al l

his energies should be thrown into the life

of England, but I c o u l d not forget the

tong ue of the moun tain s, and the fierce men

of the ravines, and in speaking to the lad 1

felt dra wn bac k to the early day s. He s o o n

picked up the easier phrases, and, once

s tar ted on the way, we travelled togeth er

with rapid steps."

"

He is cleve r, Sahib, and a b orn S ikh.Y o u r Pus hto o was not so easy to him as my

o w n tong ue was, i f one is to jud ge by the way

he pick ed i t up. Trul y, the gods have given

him the powe r of ton gue s."

" Hardly, Nusseer, for i t takes him all his

t ime to get a proper hol d of English. He

hates the grammar . I t is because he does

no t know tha t he is learning tha t he gets on

so well with us . Chat te r ing in Pushtoo and

Sikh seems to be amus emen t, and he th inks

he is hav ing a ga me . If we were to pl ay

th e par t of schoolmaster he would turn as

stupid as a camel."

" What w e learn in play , we use in work .

Sa hi b; he is one of a tho usa nd in his skill

fo r t ongues . "

" So was I, Nusse er ; b efor e I wen t t o

India I knew Fren ch and German, an d

when I set t led amo ng the mountain s I

s tudied Pushtoo, Arab ic , Persian, and

Chinese. A g o o d mem ory , a quick ear, g o o d

teachers and a read y min d make the road

to a kno wled ge of languages, and I l o v e d

the labour, and delighted in my proficiency."

M r . Laurie paused, for his remembrance of

earl ier days excit ed him,

and a heightened c o l o u r

showed tha t hi s heart wa s

feeling the strain. Nusseer

w a t c h e d h i m wi th a n

anxio us solici tude. The big

Sikh loved hi s master with

an affection almost sur

passing tha t of a mothe r

fo r her son.Mr . Laur ie had had a

strangely varied and mos t

roman tic career. He was

th e only son of a well-known

India n soldier , and had b een

t ra ined for the ser vice of

th e Ea s t India Company.

Leaving A d d i s c o m b e , th e

Ea s t Ind ia C o m p a n y ' s

College in Surr ey, after a

careful grounding in mili tary

education, he had been sent

to India, and after a few

years' fighting on the

Afghan frontier , suddenly

threw up his comm issio n

and disappear ed. He was

s e e n m a k i n g hi s w a y

thro ugh one of the great

ravines which run from

Afghanistan to India, and

nothing more was seen or

heard of him . His father

and mother had die d about

si x month s before this, and

it was supposed tha t grief

had unsettle d his mind.

He had no propert y to

succeed to, for, l ike man y

other men, his father had

served his country rather

than himself, and value d a

decoration or a m edal far

more than he did g o l d .

Y o u n g Laurie had dev elop ed a wonderfula p t i tude for languages, beco ming proficient

in man y dialects. He had b e c o m e one of

the most skilful in te rpre te rs in the Service,

when his unaccountable disappearance

seemed to c los e his career for eve r. It wa s

thought tha t he had been waylaid and

murd ered b y som e of the fanatic al tribes men

wh o haunted the b leak hillsides of the great

passes into the Path an count ry . But he

was too wary a soldier to be cau ght in t h i s

way. A l o n e he had penetra ted the rough

cou nt ry on the ot her side of the B olan Pass ,

and wan dered abo ut among the Ghilzais,some

of the w ildest of the hill-dwellers betwee n

Kabul and Kandahar .

T h o u g h of slight build , he was an a thle te

of powerful physique, with muscles l ike

whipcord , and wit h powers of endurance

almost unequalled, bearing tropical heat and

Arct ic c o l d alike easily . Quic k of han d and

e j ' e , few cou ld exce l him in hun t ing or

fighting, an d he was abs olu tel y fearles s. Hi s

proficiency in speech made it easy for him

to assume disgu ises, and he c o u l d have made

his way from Peshawar to Constantinople

witho ut i t being suspected tha t he was other

than he repre sente d himself to be at th e

t ime.

H e fell in with a Mullah, or priest, in the

rough count ry near Kanda har, and the two

stru ck up a great friend ship. Fo r several

years they l ived together in a mountai n

village, an d Lari K ha n, as he was called , was

soon initiated by Abdu l the Mullah into all th e

niceties of Afghan and Mohammedan waysand habits. The y studied the rude medici ne

of the Afgh ans, and beca me experts in

mesmerism, and in various tricks which

Lari Khan had learned at A d d i s c o m b e and

in the barrac ks. He was an expert sleight-of-

hand conjur or, and often astound ed the

Ghilzaia with his dexterity.



Through Afghan Snobvs. 451

The tw o set out o n a long journe y t o

Bokhara, and Merv. The y had a cara van,

and travelled throu gh all the cities of

Turkestan, then struck int o Asia Minor , and

followed the great caravan road which runs

a long the Dardanelles to Constantinople.

F r o m the wonderful city on the Bosp hor us

they made the pilgrimage to the sacred

shrine at Mecca , an d returned with all the

dignity of Hadjis, who are entitled to wearthe famous green tu rban . A t M e c c a the

chief priest had been so muc h impress ed

that he gave Abdul a special c o p y of the

K o r a n , written in letters of go ld and bound

in a magnificent jewelled c o v e r . This was

t o be presente d by the m to the Sh ah of

Afghanistan.

T h e y returned by wa y of Persia, and

on reaching Kabu l gave the preci ous

book to Shah S hujah-ool-Moolk, then

reigning at Kabul . Wh en Lari Kha n an d

A b d u l the Mulla h were sh ow n int o his

presence, the Prince was arrayed in magni

ficent robes , and wor e in his tu rb an th e

jewel of the K o h - i - n o o r , or Fount ain of Light,

the diamond which the L i o n of the Punja b,

Runjeet Singh, was afterwards to des poil

h im of, and wh ich now belongs to the BritishEmpe ror of Indi a. He receive d the precio us

c o p y of the Kor an with great eagerness, and

in his thankfulnes s gav e Lar i Kh an a seven -

p o i n t e d diamond star, which he pinne d

into the Khan's tu rban with his own hands.

W i t h great rejoicing the advent urous

wanderers reached their mountain fastness

once again, and for several years Lari Kha n

and Abd ul remained th e closest of friends.

On e day a mount ed soldier was seen

spurring furiously along the mount ain roa d

which led to Lari Khan 's strong tower. Half

a mile behind him, a sc ore of Afghans wer e

in hot pursuit. Lari Khan flung open the

gate, and the fugiti ve dash ed in, and the gate

was closed and barric aded. After a hot

fight the Afghans retreated, v o w i n g eternal

vengeance against the man wh o had baul ked

them of their prey.

The fugitive was a chieftain named Dost

M o h a m m e d , whose father, Poynd ah Kha n,

was a well-known Afghan s tatesman an d

soldier . This man had left twenty-one sons,

of w h o m Futteh Khan was the eldest, and

D o s t Moh amme d the youngest. Futteh

Khan had been blinded and hacked in pieces

b y his furious enemies, and D os t Mo ha mme d

had barely escaped with his life.

Grateful to the man who had now save d him ,

D o s t Mohammed swore b lood brotherhood

with him, and said that if Lari Khan of the

D i a m o n d Star ever needed his assistance,

he would march f rom the remotest corner of

Afghan ista n to serve him, and wou ld place

men and money at his disposal.

Some time afterwards Lari Kha n saved a

caravan f rom being plunde red b y a band of

Kakurs which had swept d o w n upon it in the

Bolan Pass. Wit h the cara van was a yo ung

English lady . She was taken to the fort ress,

and before a year was out bec ame the wife

of Lari Kha n. Wi th her was a Sikh servan t

named Nusseer, a young man f rom Lahore.

T w o years passed away without much

disturbance in the Ghilzai count ry. Dost

M o h a m m e d had sent his son Akbar Khan, a

y o u n g lad about t en years of age, to th e

shelter of Lari Khan 's fortress, and the

youthfu l Afgh an spent the time fondli ng

and p layi ng wi th the infant s on of his

benefactor . But one day calamity swept up

on the wings of treac hery and cru elty . An

Afghan betrayed the hiding-place of Akbar

to his enemies. Th e little fort was atta cked,

and after a stu bbor n defen ce the assailants

burst their way in. Mrs. Laurie was shot .

Akbar , after a series of hairbreadth escapes,

managed to slide d o w n a rope into the court

yard, and so escaped into the roug h coun try

w h i c h stretched towards Kab ul. Nusseer

caught up the two-year-old child, and

managed to break through the murderers,

and hid in a wild gull y thr ough whi ch a

mountain torrent dashed. Lari Kha n, after

a fierce strug gle, was seized and b oun d h and

and foo t , and carried d o w n to the cam p of

the assailants.

Afzul Ali, a ferocious Afreedee , was the

leader of the brigands. He had for ma nyyears been at bitter enmity with Dost

M o h a m m e d and Lar i Kha n, and was one of

the most cruel an d blo odthir sty chiefs to be

f o u n d in the Afghan mountains . He kne w

that Lari Kh an was a Ferin ghee, and hate d

him with all the power of his evil nature.

H e laughed and spat in his face as the

helpless prisoner was dragged before him.

Taking his broad- bladed Afghan knife, he

delibe ratel y slashed off the ears of the

cap t ive , and dropped them into his pouch.

" T o sh ow my master ," he said with a

cruel grin.

Lari Khan wi nced with the sharp pain,

but he smiled back at the Afreedee, an d

snapp ed out a few words of scorn. Nex t

morn ing he was bro ugh t before the Chief

again. A pos t had be en dri ven int o the

earth, with an arm of w o o d projecting f rom

it on one side. Fr om this there hung a

noosed rope. Lari Kha n thou ght that they

meant to hang him. Th ey slipp ed the rope

around his chest and he was swung off his

feet. Afzu l Ali approa ched, carrying his

sharp Afg han sabre. For a few minute s he

s t o o d grinnin g at his prisoner . " Ferin ghee,

thou accursed on e, " he said, " wouldst thou

return, with thy life, to thine own country

across the black waters ? Thi s land is tired

of thee."

Lari Khan made no reply.

W i t h his own sword Afzu l Al i then cu t

off the captive's legs b e l o w the knees,

l eav ing his vic tim lying upo n the grou nd

t o die a lingeri ng deat h, as he sup pos ed.T h e unfortunate man would have bled to

death if his medical knowl edge had not

s t o o d him in good stead. After the

Afreedees ha d gone, with trembli ng hands

he managed to make a rough tourniquet to

bind round the limbs , and with his robe

cont r ived to stop the bleeding, bandaging

as well as he could .

Al l da y and all night he lay by the stre am,

and when the weakness induced by the shock

and loss of b lood had in som e measur e pass ed

a w a y , he began to crawl alon g the roa d. He

c o v e r e d some distance, and at midnight had

reached one of the glo omiest parts of the

ravine, w hen ho heard t he cry ing of a chil d.

H e listened intently, and realised that th e

soui)J cnme tro m the rocks befor e him.

Crawling forward he disc over ed a c a v e ,

and in it a little child, wrapped up in warm

Portion of Anci ent Egy pti an Papyrus recently

discovered.

c lo th ing , but fretful becau se of want of food .

H e had no means of stri king a light, but he

felt sure that this little cast away was his ow n

b o y , and he knew that Nusseer c o u l d no t

b e ver y far awa y. Pos sib ly he had gon e to

find food . This surmise was correct. A

little befor e day lig ht the Sikh returned with

an abundance of food , and was over joyed to

find his master lyi ng by the side of the chi ld.

By s low stages they journeyed throughthe frowning Pass, and reache d the Indi an

frontier, sleeping through the day and

t o i l i n g s lowly through the dark hours.

Nusseer had rigged up a rude cart, and

u p o n th is the suffering Lari Khan lay with

his boy , and the faithful Sikh drag ged t hem

o v e r the rough mountain road. At Sukkur

they hir ed a boa t, and sailed d o w n the Indus

t o Haidarabad, where for some months Mr.

Laurie lay between life and death.

Cross ing o v e r to Kotr i, they travelled

d o w n to Kurrao hee, where the y found a

vessel sailing for Lon do n. Nusseer wou ld not

l e a v e Mr. Laurie and his son. Th ey embar ked

together and sailed to Londo n, exchanging

into a coast ing br ig whi ch was goi ng to the

Isle of Man, where the travellers landed, as

we hav e seen. Here Nusseer, after considerabl e search, disc over ed the cott age on

th e eastern coast , and the th ree adventurers

made their ho me in the qui et Man x glen.

Ei ght years ha d passed awa y in almo st

m o n o t o n o u s fashion, the sole employment

of Mr. Laurie being the training a nd c o m

panio nshi p of his son . Th e lad gave ever y

p r o m i s e of a stro ng man ho od . He was well-

set and str ong- limb ed, and the bracin g sea

air and a cti ve exercises in the glen so o n made

h i m l o o k older than his years. Eve ry day

he bath ed in the sea, and beca me an exper t

at swimm ing and diving . The village sc h o o l

was a four-m ile walk awa y, unless he sailed

in his own boa t rou nd the frowning Head

land, and this daily t r a m p o v e r the hills and

rocks soon devel oped in him a s trength

of wind and limb which made him one of the

best runners in the di stric t.

In man y ways the plain, old-fashion ed

M a n x scho olmas ter foun d the lad a great

p l a g u e . He was too sharp for the lads a nd

girls who sat wi th him , and finding his lessons

e a s y , he got into the habi t of letting his

thou ghts wander far afield, and often had t o

b e recalled to the prosaic business of the

element s of gra mmar or vulg ar fractions by

the sharp applicatio n of a st rap laid across

his shoul ders. But the scho olma ster was

char y of punishi ng him . The look which

s w e p t across the dark f ace warned him t ha t

the lad res ented t he di sgr ace of a b l o w fa r

m o r e than he felt the pain, and the schoo l

master was wise enou gh to.see t ha t , with such

a boy, words were more powerful than b l o w s .W h e n work was o v e r for the day, Bob

Laurie would dart off like a

hou nd upo n the scent, and run

straight hom e to his father and

Nusseer, or else jum p into his

b o a t and steer off to sea, and

then swee p roun d the Head , and

so into the little harbo ur where

the Maggie lay . Mr. Lauri e had

taught him many phrases in

P u s h t o o , the ton gue of the

A f g h a n s , and Nusseer l o v e d to

chatter awa y in the Sikh ton gue.

Thu s, almo st before they were

awa re, the lad gr ew to be an

adept in these languages, which

really beca me the spe ech of the

h o m e .

But the lad's greatest ambition

was to take a cruise in the

Maggie. On man y an evening

he had seen the hea vy doo rs of

the warehouse t hrow n open, and

g o o d s f rom France stored in the



453

Do you want to play for k your(ouvtyi

A S e r i e s o f E i g h t A r t i c l e s S p e c i a l l y W r i t t e n Tor the " B . O . P .

By WILFRED RHODE8

(The famous Yorkshire and England Cricketer).

IAH rather afraid tha t I am up against

a fairly stiff prop osit ion in ende avou r

ing to undertake the w riti ng of a series of

cricket art icles for the " B. O. P. " I wouldn't

mind the task if I had t o do it for any othe i

journal, but the " B. O. P. " is in a class of

its ow n when dealing with the various

branch es of Briti sh sp ort so dear to all

healthy b o y s , and I am sorely afraid that

whatever k now led ge of cricket whic h I possess,

while being easy to impa rt t o others by

example, may need a more ready pen than

mine to thoroughly explain in order to bear

fruit among st the thou sand s of junior s who

are doubtless anxious to improve their form.

It is generally understood by most people

that cricketers are born and not made, inthe sense that unless a youth has cricket

in him he can never be made to play w e l l ;

but so long as a youn gste r has a certain

amou nt of brain and will do as he is told b y

an able coach , there is no knowing to what

height he may even tuall y cli mb in the wo rld

of cricket .

Some time a go I was asked to agree wi th

th e s tatement of a certain indiv idua l tha t

if a youth is weak in b o d y he can never be

turned in to a first-class pl ay er , no mat te r

h o w g o o d the coa chin g whic h he receives

ma y be, beca use , first of all, a g o o d c o a c h

must have g o o d material t o w or k upon ;

but I cannot endorse such a s tatement

because, in my opini on, weaknes s is no

barrier over which the y oun g cricketer

canno t c l i m b . To say tha t b o d i l y weakness

is directly oppose d to a yout h's chances

in the game is untrue, and is also likely to

d o ha rm in the sense tha t b o y s wh o are no t

muscular may g ive up all ideas of playing

ericket .

One can never tell exactly what nature

has in store for the weakling. He may or

may not turn out to be a g o o d cricketer,

but at any rate the ex ercise of play ing is

the finest for devel opin g all the m ost i m

portant parts of his ana tom y, an d this alone

should be an inducement to the weak to

persevere with the game . The only two

real and serious drawbacks to a youth who

is fond of cricket are a weak heart and bad

lungs, but so long as he is phys ically s ound

in wind and limb ordin ary weakness doe sn' t

count. Cricket is one of those games in

C H A P T E R I . 0 3 ? A N I N T R O D U C T O R Y N A T U R E .

which brute fo rce does not s tand for much ;

indeed, provid ed a youngst er has a g o o d

eye and a stout heart, he will s o o n make

headway.

But give n the mos t robus t frame, g o o d

muscles, stron g nerv es, and a perfec t sight,

there is not one of m y readers who can even

hop e to impr ov e in the slightest d egree

[Photo. Hawkins.

Wilfred Rhodes.

unless he is tho rou ghl y keen and willing to

sacrifice som e of his other pleasures. There

may be certain departments of the g ame

which do not appeal to a bo y. Fo r instanc e,

he may be part icularly f o n d of ba t t ing and

disl ike fielding, a nd so on ; bu t I ca n assure

those who are one-sided in their affection

fo r the game, tha t unless they throw their

whole hear ts into every departme nt, they

cannot hope to b e c o m e wha t we call first-

class cricketers.

I do n't k no w if any of you have ever

heard th e sto ry of a certain amateur player ,

wh o was a very g o o d batsman but was never

asked t o play for his co un ty becau se he

wouldn ' t t ak e the trouble to e x c e l or even

take a moder ate a moun t of interest in

bowling an d fielding. A fri en d of his met

him one Sa tu rda y evening and q uestioned

him regarding th e matc h in whic h he ha d

been playing tha t afternoon.

" H o w did you get on, Ja ck ? " the friend

asked.

" Oh , pre t ty wel l , th an k s , " the player

rep lie d; " yo u see, I got sixty -five and had a

g o o d t i m e . "

" Sple ndid ! " ejacu lated the other , " bu t

wh o wo n the mat ch ? "

" Oh , well , I don ' t qui te know . Yo u

see, it was like this. W e ba t t e d first and

scored 150, an d wh en the oth er side went in

I s o o n saw tha t we h ad n ' t a bowler in the

tea m; so I gave a Joh nny w ho was standing

on the boun da ry half- a-cro wn to field for

me and came away."

N o w this " but ter fly " cricketer was, I

know, an except ion to the general ru n; but

from what I have seen in b o y s ' games there

is a treme ndo us l ot of slackness , especi ally

amon gst those who fanc y themselves as

batsmen, a nd I would warn them tha t

bat t ing alone is not cricket , and tha t , h o w

ever g o o d a bat sma n is, he can not find a

place in a mod ern co un ty side unless he has

something else to reco mme nd him.

In m y opin ion , fielding is even mo re im

por t a n t than any other departm ent of the

game . It is not the g o o d fortune of ever y

on e to bat or b o w l just as well as he wo uld

wish ; but eve ry cricketer who wou ld just ify

his inclus ion in a respe ctabl e side mus t b e

able to field, and there is no excuse what

ever fo r ba d fielding. I am afraid th e

general run of you ngst ers are not par

t icularly f o n d of th is branc h of cricket , and

are certainly n ot ove r keen in taking part in

fielding pra cti ce. It se ems to be the ide a of

every boy tha t bat t ing and bowling alone

consti tute the co mplet e game of cricket , an d

tha t an y noo dle can field ; but I m ay say I

ha ve kn ow n ma ny a first-class m at ch wo n

b y smar t fielding, a nd its im po rta nc e can

never be over-est imated. Teaching a bo y

to field properly, so tha t he not only stops



454 The Hojr'j Obon Taper.

the ball but gathers it neatly and returns

it with the same action, is the du ty of every

parent o r c o a c h who wants his son or pupil

t o b e c o m e a g o o d cricketer .

W h e n the batsman goes in to the wicket

he is " on his ow n, " and t he same m ay be

said abo ut the bowler, but whether the

bats man or bowle r is a success or failure

doesn ' t mat te r so very much because, in

either case, there are others who can be p ut

in or on . Ho we ve r, if a fieldsman is a

failure in his position, there is n o b o d y to

ma ke up for his error s, and not on ly is he

upsetting ten men be sides himself, but for

e v e r y run he gi ves b y his clums iness he is

practical ly taking one away from the score

w h i c h the batsm en on his side hav e had the

task of makin g. A g o o d cricketer l o v e s

fielding at an y tim e and und er any

c o n d i t i o n s .

In the co urse of the n ext few weeks I

shall deal with each depa rtme nt of the ga me

in its turn, so that I shall have another

oppor tunity of touchin g upon t ha t im

p o r tan t sub jec t, fielding. Wh at I wan t toimpress upo n my readers this week is t ha t

they must not rely upon their matches to

keep them in form alone, and much less will

there be a l ikelihood of impr ovem ent if every

oppor tunit y for practice is neglected. I

can assure my bo y friends that for weeks

prev ious to the open ing of the first-class

cricket season every County player puts in

hours of pract ice ever y day for at least a

mon th ; inde ed, by the first day of May , they

have probably played as much cricket as any

on e of my readers doe s in a who le season.

R em em ber t ha t only by assiduous practice

can you hope to b e c o m e proficient .

T o learn ho w to bat prop erly and be

certain o f the bes t results yo u must practise

upo n the best wicke ts. A great majo rit y

of would-be coaches th ink , and are not s low

to openly a v o w , t ha t any sort of a pitc h m il

d o for the youngster, and the greater th e

difficulties he has to su rmou nt the mor e

resource he will sho w when he has maste red

the ar t; but, in my opinio n, to put a bo y

on a rough wicke t and ex pec t him to b e c o m e

a cricket er is one of the mo st insane things

I can th ink of . Firs t of all, it pro bab ly

frightens hi m ; for wh o can exp ec t a boy t o

retain his plu ck when the ball leaves th e

pi tch at all angl es and is as often in th e

vic in i ty of his head as his feet ?

Th e ba d wicke t shou ld never be used forthe you ng . If it is, the result will be t ha t

in after life y o u will not be able to ge t t he m

t o stand their ground, and instead of seeing

the easy swing of the b at an d the well-

timed stroke which sends the ball at a

smar t pace all along the turf you will see

the m mov in g in the dire ction of square leg

imme dia tel y the ball leaves the bowl er's

hand. Practice on bad wickets is bou nd

to result in shirking ta ct ics ; for just at the

tim e when every confiden ce is requi red a

b o y will receive a nasty knock which he

never forge ts, and instead of " jum pin g to "

a ball he will get int o th e habi t of " ju mp in g

aw ay ," a habi t which will take years to

break. Rem emb er, youngsters must have

g o o d wicke ts. Not hin g else will do if yo u

want g o o d results.

I don 't wan t to mak e these articles too

dull, so I shall do my be st to wo rk in a few

r ecol l ec t ions of m y ow n career whic h ma y be

somew hat interest ing. Havi ng written of

bad wicke ts reminds me of an e xperie nce in

Australia during the winter before last.

It was at Bris bane that , although the

actual wick et upo n which we pla yed was

g o o d , the outf ield was so rou gh that accurate

picking up was a matter of impossibility.

I rememb er one incide nt in this respect

w h i c h caused us a great amount of laughter.

Jack Hearne was standing at mid-on, and

in quick succession two balls were played

towa rds him. In each case he was guilty

of misfielding on acc oun t of the bad grou nd,

and w hen another ball was play ed in his

direction the batsman thought it was g o o d

enou gh to try for a run. But this t ime

Hear ne fielded c orr ect ly, and , in ord er to

run the batsman out, threw the ball with

all his might towards Smith, our wicket-

keeper.

H o w e v e r , he was so exci ted that the ball

went ve ry wide of its mark, with the result

that it sailed on to the opposite boundary,

where Jo e Vine was standing. Joe , of

cour se , prom ptly met i t ; but , as hes t o o p e d down to gather the sphere, it

sudde nly jum pe d ov er his shoulder to th e

boundary. The c r o w d yelled themselves

hoarse, and Vine , after scratching his head

fo r a mom en t, remarked, " It 's a won der

to me why you don't let this ground to a

switchback rai lway co mpa ny ! "

Now , having given yo u some sugar, yo u

must be prepared to take the medicine,

and I can quite understand that you will

not like it ; for, as a matter of fact, it is in the

shape of advice which will be hard to

fol low and will , if you truly love cricket,

require a great amou nt of will power. Let

me warn you not to ove rdo cricket . To my

k n o w l e d g e there are many parents who so

far forget their duty to their childre n as t o

prefer a pl ace in the Schoo l Eleven for their

sons to a pla ce in the list of Hon our s. It

seems a huge contrad icti on for a man to

send his boy to school with the chief hope

that he will shine in games at the expense

of his learning, and of the things that ar e

absolu tely necessary for the bui lding up of

a useful and honourable career and doing

any g o o d work in the world.

Let you r whole minds rest upon what you

have in hand at one time. W o r k hard

while yo u are at wo rk, and in the hour s set

aside for recreation play hard ; but once y ou

al low pla y to interfere wi th work yo u are

d o i n g yourselves, your parents, and your

cou ntr y a dee p wrong . It rests with youyour selv es to build up a useful career.

After all, cricket is only a form of exercise.

Th e next article in this series will be e ntitl ed,

" SOMETH ING ABOUT BATTING."

Tfc* 18U

Instinct.

GOLFING NOVICE (who has been cutting up the turf) J " These worms seem to bemuch agitated, caddie."

CADDIE: " Yes, sir, they think you're diggin' for bait."



Scarred Cliff Island:A T a l e o f a V e n d e t t a .

CHAPTER V II. —-HELP IS CLOSE A T H A N D W H E N FA TE P L A Y S M E

A SCTTKVY TRICK.

By A. FERGUSON,

Author of " The Singing Kettle"" Held as Hostages" " Up tlie

Essequibo," etc., etc.

HORT as had

been my ex

p e r i e n c e of

B a r t o Bar-

buzzi, it had

sufficed to put

into me a deep

f e a r a n d

horror of the

man. So now,

'.when I heard

- hi m l o u d l y

- v o i c i n g hi s

regrets that I

had escaped,

i n h i s o w n

c haracter is t ic

fashion, the

field-glasses drop ped from my hand, a nd I

cowered and trembled in my l i t t le kennel

hole in the cliff.

The next mom ent m y heart seemed

almost to jump into my mouth—for the

me n h ad tumbl ed noisily out of the hou se

and were running hard in my direction.

The n I call ed mysel f a silly ass, and my

heart went back to its prope r plac e. Of

•course, the Sicilian brothe rs ha d not mirac u

lously got scent of my hiding-pl ace ! Th ey

were merely running to the top of the pa th

leading down to the harbour beach, to assure

themselves tha t I ha dn ' t launche d one of

the boa ts high and dry on the shingle— a

feat certainly beyo nd my powers— and gone

aw ay in her.

M y hiding-place was on the outside of the

cliff form ing one of the horns of the harb our

bay, and the pa th to the beach sta r ted

o n the inside. S o Barto 's savage v o i ce ,

thunder ing Italian maledictions on the bad

luck that had kept him from rinding " tha t

pig Cazale," and tha t had a llowed me to

escape, came distinctly ove r the cliff to my

-ears.

" Malora! How did the l i t t le rogue

co ntr ive to free a hand for the use of the

knife 1" he continued.

" Y ou had failed to tie the rop e tig htly

•enough," suggested the stolid M a s o .

His brother turned on him angri ly. " A m

I a man wh o can not tie knot s ? The bo y

•could not have got out of my bond s wi thout

the help of the Evi l One. "

" A n d his knife," put in M a s o . " Y o u

were a fool not to take the knife from him."

" A foo l , was I ? " snarle d Bar to. " The nI was for o n c e what yo u are always . Ho w

was I to guess that the b oy had a knife con

ceale d on him ! Wit h his idio tic frankness

and sim plicity , one would no more have

suspected him of tricks than one would a

"new-born babe."

" I do not th ink no w that the boy was all

simple as he seemed," Maso said, s lowly .

" I knew he was not the moment I saw

the cut and emp ty rope, " retorted the other.

" He was maki ng a pret ence all the tim e.

I do not doubt, now, tha t he is an imp of

•cunning, and knows qu ite well where Caz ale

hide s. Hunti ng for that pig in the detes table

w o o d s of this island is like searching for pins

in a plo ugh ed field. Bu t, had I gues sed that

the bo y knew where to find the Cazale, when

I ha d m y grip on the l i t t le rascal— Ebbene !the Cazale would have bee n a ver y muc h

•dead man by this time ! "

" It wou ld not have been wise to hurt th e

b o y , " broke in Mas o . " You h a t e heard it

told how swift and sure to punish are the

English,if harm be done to any of their people. ' '

" I am not the ma n to be baul ked b y a boy !

If the little villain did not do my biddi ng,

harm woul d most assuredly hav e been done

to him. Altro ! but I would have persuaded

him very quickl y to do my bidding ! " An d

Bart o 's laugh betok ened significantly the

nature of his pers uasio n.

" As for the English— that for the English ! "

he went on with an audible snap of his

fingers. " Wh en we have done the work

w e cam e here to do, and cove red up well all

trac e of it, we sail aw ay fro m this island in

tha t qu ick l i t t le yacht, with its plenty of

f o o d and wate r. W e sail for a far part of

the country. Then we scuttle the yac ht off

some lonely part of the coa st, and go ashore

in the l i t t le boat . T hen we t r a m p along

till we reach som e seaport from whenc e we

can work our way back to Sic i ly . N o w ,

see ho w well m y brain has pla nned the

matter ! No one knows tha t it is we who

stole the yac ht in . Nort hpor t harbour. N o

on e will ever know tha t we have visited this

island ; tha t is, if we ma ke the bo y as d um b

as we shall m ake the Caz ale— and it is now

clear to me, M a s o , tha t the cunning l i t t le

rogue know s to o mu ch to be left alive t o

tell tales."

" I th ink you do what is not wise or right

il you even hurt the bo y, muc h less kill hi m,"

said the heavy M a s o , speaking with unusual

energy. " But, of course, you heed not w hat

I say. It is a different ma t te r with the

killing of C es co Cazale—the Barbuzzi and

the Cazale hav e killed eac h othe r eve r sinc e

time was. But even in the matter of killing

C es co , have I not always said, ' W h y

trou ble to go to the oth or end of the wor ld

to kill a man, ev en though he be a Cazale ,

and got us put in prison ? ' But be cause

of y o u r hate of h im—because you ca nno t

sleep, or eat, or drink with pleasure unt i l

y o u have killed him, yo u must go . An d I

g o with you , because yo u .are my brother.

A l s o , because you have always made me

d o you r will since I was a chil d. Bu t, I

tell you , to me it is all a tro uble a nd a mad

ness—I do not care a soldi whether C es co

Cazale is kille d or not so long as I ca n ge t

back to my own place and peo ple, and my

o w n f o o d . "

This outburs t, ama zingl y long and ener

getic comi ng from M a s o , his brother re

c e i v e d with scornful indignation.

" Yo u shou ld t a ke shame to yourself

to say so, To mm as o Barbuzz i ! " he cr ied." B u t yo u are a soulless pig, and care but

to eat and lie soft and war m. Venge ance

is nothing to you. W e l l is it for the fami ly

honour , and for the ave nging of your w rongs

and my own, tha t I, your brother, woul d go

twe nty tim es to the end of the wor ld to have

the j oy of giving Frances co Cazale a bad

dea t h . "

" It doe s not l o o k as if tha t dea t h will be

given here to-day," said Maso sullenly.

" Corpo di Bacco ! do you fanc y he can

escape me here, whe n I kn ow tha t he is here

to be found for the searching ? " cried

Bart o violen tly. " It is not yet muc h beyo nd

noon—we have muc h time for the searching,

even if we have to beat every tree- covered

spot on this little island. But I will quick ly

mak e the bo y sho w us where he is when wehave found the rogue. He w ill not be so hard

to find, for he must be hiding some whe re a t

this end of the island —he wo ul d not b e

likely to fo l l o w in the direction we to ok when

Ave left him in the house."

" Per haps he has gone to hide where

the Cazal e hid es ," sugges ted Maso sud

den ly .

" It m ay be so and —Ha ! a though t

c o m e s to me ! Per haps i t may have been

tha t dog Cazale himself who, stealing fr om

his hiding-place, entered the hous e and cu t

the b o y ' s bonds. In that cas e, we find the m

bot h together, hiding not far awa y. It is

w e l l ! C o m e ! "

" Wh er e shall w e sea rch first ? " ask ed

M a s o , seemingly fallen back into dull sub

mission.

" Ecco ! that tree-filled ravine over yonder

l o o k s a g o o d and han dy plac e for the miser-

ables to hide themsel ves in . W e will take

it first, and rans ack it mos t thor ough ly.

Then on to another. Ma pero ! I bethink

m e it were best tha t y o u c o m e not with me,

bu t s tay here in the op en to wa tc h while I

beat the ravin es."

" It is w e l l , " said M a s o , evidently en

tirel y satisfied to hav e so eas y a task .

" Stay just here to guard the path to the

boats , " comm ande d Barto . " And , s tup id ,

remember to keep your eyes wide open,

watchi ng well on ever y side. If the Cazale

and the bo y break c o v e r , g i v e chase and

shout your loudest for me. Wa tc h w e l l !

or it wi ll be the worse for yo u ! "

W i th tha t he m o v e d away, leaving, be

hind him, cont entm ent in the breast of his

brother and the most dire dismay in the

heart of the b oy in the hiding hole ove r the

cliff. For how c o u l d the yacht, with our

rescuers, approach the island, unseen, with

Maso on the w atc h !

A t present the yac ht, though well on her

way across the channel, was too distant to

at t ract at tent ion. But when she came near

enough for her destination to be evident,

Maso w o u ld raise the alar m, and he and his

brother would get clear away fr om the

island before the others reache d it . An d

I was desperately anxi ous tha t Barto Bar

buzzi should be cau ght and pu t in priso n to

ensure Franc ie's safety from him for a g o o d

man y years at least.

However , after a l i t t le I decid ed with a

bo3' 's natural tend ency to hope for the best.

Maso was the ki nd of ma n to do his

watch ing sitting do wn when his bullying

brot her w as out of sight, and, if he sat d ow n

there , at th e to p of the pa th lead ing down

to the beac h, he woul d not b e able to see

the yach t until she appear ed at the na rrow

entrance to our l i t t le harbour. So thatwould be all ri ght !

Easy thou gh my min d was in the con

v ict ion tha t Francie and I were both hidden

past disc overy , and, wi th help swiftly c o m

ing to us, had noth ing no w to fear from

Barto, I c o u l d not help shuddering when

my thoughts reverte d to the conversa tion I

had just overhear d between the Sicilian

brothers. For Bart o 's own lips had de

clared tha t what my fear-qui ckened i magi

nation had pict ured him doin g to me was

even less than he would have don e, had I

remained his prisoner.

He w ould have stoppe d at no violence or

cruel ty to fo r ce me to betray Francie to a

dreadful death, and then he would have

killed me to prevent me giving evidenc e

again st hi m ! If ever a boy pra yed, fr oma full heart , hi s t ha nks to G od for his esc ape

f rom a terrible ordeal and certain death, I

was tha t bo y !

Wi th the glasses glue d to my eyes , I

sat eagerly watching the oncom ing yach t.

Never had I fully realised unt i l now how



456 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.

I was not cons ciou s of m y disa ppoi ntme nt

a t this further dela y, for i t was i nstantl y

swal lowed up in the dismay and concern

that filled me to hear, at this v e r y m o m e n t ,

Bar to Barb uzzi lou dly hail ing Masq, The

latter sto od to o greatly in fear of his b rother

not to hear that raucous vo ice of his , even

when soun d asleep. I heard him instan tly

scram ble an d st umbl e to his feet and re

turn the hail , with a wide -awa ke alac ri ty

w h i c h ev iden t ly dece iv ed the approach ing

Bar to as t o the wa y in whi ch his bro ther

had been keep ing watch .

" Y o u hav e seen nothi ng of those detest

able pigs ? or of anyt hing to alarm on sea

o r land ? " the elder brothe r asked r ough ly,

unturned on the grou nd. Thus i t is im

possible that I do not find them in the end.

Y o u will s tay a bo ve here to watch the ho use

and the harbour, and to give warning if

dange r appro aches , o r if Cazale and t he

boy come out i nto the open . Oh, we shall

catch them, hav e no fear . I f not before

dark , then assuredly after , when we make

bel i eve to be gone , and they c o m e creep ing

b a c k to the house ."

" I wish we were well aw ay fro m this p l a c e , "

said Maso g loomi ly . " I fear the return of

the padrone with his fr iends."

" Id io t ! Hav e I no t sa id that that wil l

not be for tw o day s yet ? " cr ied Bart o.

" Still, do not fail to keep good watch . For

m e , I n ow go to hunt fo r those

accursed animals in the ravine on

this other s ide ."

He seemed to m o v e away a s t ep

or two . Then I heard h im say :

" Wh at o f those trees u p th e r e

behin d us ? It c an scar cely be that

they hide where the cover is so

scant— but wh o kno ws ? I wil l t a k e

a look there first."

The nex t moment , I

heard both the menm o v i n g a b o u t

among the

Wtk A JH a trees w h i e b

' H e stopped to thr ow a careless glance into th e hole

(See p. 157.)and his eyes m et mine 1

pre tty a s ight is a tr im, we ll-handl ed l i t t le

yacht, its sails filled by a favouring breeze,

sk im min g smoo th ly over a sh in ing sea . But

then neve r befor e had I wat che d a yac ht as

I watched that one !

Neare r and nearer i t cam e, and eve r more

g lad and exci ted I grew. I had rec ogni sed i t

so m e t ime ago as Mr . Dawson ' s Undine a n d

n o w I c o u l d make ou t i ts occupants qu i te

clearly. Ther e was Mr. Da ws on himself ,

and his tw o big, s trong, grow n-u p sons,

Malve rn, the distr ict cons table , and my good

o ld c h u m , Cuthbert—trust Cuth to make

the mo st unwill i ng father see the cruelty of

p reven t ing an eager ly in te res ted b oy f rom

a c c o m p a n y i n g an expe dit ion got up on his

in format ion !

I kne w the y woul d al l c o m e wel l a rmed ,

and , to my boy ish thinkin g, the presence of

the cons tab le , whi le g iv i ng immens e d ign i ty

to the expedi t io n , ensured dungeo ns ami

fet ters for the Barbu zzi br other s.

Th e yac ht was no w near enoug h to sugges t

to anyone , on the look o u t , t ha t she was

making for Scar red Cliff I s land . There fore ,

s i n c e no alar m was being raised, Ma so was

e v i d e n t l y not on the look-o u t—h e mus t be

s i t t ing d o w n . Stra in ing m y ears to ca tchany sounds from his direction, I caught one

t ha t mad e me chuckle g lee ful ly to myse l f—

the soun d of he avy snoring mad e faint by

d is tance . Maso was no t on ly s i t t ing d o w n ,

he was fast aslee p ! Sple ndid ! N ow , if Bart o

w o u l d only keep on fe r re ting abou t dow n

in the gu lly a l i t t le longe r, al l wo uld be well .

For the Undine w o u l d soon be a t an chor

in our l i t t le harbo ur, a nd I , s teal ing ou t of

m y hid ing-p lace and past the sleeping sentry,

w o u l d be do wn on the bea ch to meet the

landi ng of the resc ue par ty and let them

k n o w exac t ly the pos i t ion of matters on the

island. Th ey wou ld mak e a prison er of

Maso while he slept , and then m a k e their

plans for the captu re, b y fo rce or s t ra tagem,

of the fo rmidab le Bar to .

B u t alas for this speed y and sa t i s fac torysett lem ent of the si tua tion ! The favo urin g

breeze, that had been zea lous ly fo rward ing

our interests , wave red and fell. T h e n ,

suddenly veer ing round , i t began to blow

f rom the north-ea st and the yac ht ' s swift

progress was severel y che cke d. Her course

became a weari some succession of tacks ,

which, it seem ed to me at first, br ou gh t her

n o farther fo rward , s ince what she ga ined

on the one she lost oh the other. An d, in

the meant i me , any mom ent might b r ing

Bar to o ut of the gully to cat ch sight of her !

M y bitter disappo in tment a lmos t made me

weep.

A l i t t le further anxiou s watch ing and I

t o o k hear t aga in . The Undine, g o o d l i t t le

sailer that she was, s lowly but surely was

appr oach ing the is land and she had on ly acompara t ive ly shor t d i s tance to c o m e . T i m e

m o v e d on, and nearer an d nearer she ca me,

unti l , at last, it l o o k e d to me, wait in g an d

watch ing in the u tmo s t impat ience , that

she must surely make the mouth of the

harb our in her nex t ta ck.

I prepared to leav o my cliff hid ing-p lace ,

hoping and pray ing t ha t B a r t o B a r b u z z i

w o u l d remain out of s ight until I go t down

to the beac h. I cou ld t rust Maso to sleep

on , but Barto had had ample t ime to ran

sack eve ry branch of the gully he had g one

into , and I feared his sudd en reapp earanc e

while I was mak ing for the beach. I

waite d with my eyes eagerly fixed on the

Undine. I woul d mak e my dash from m y

hiding -place t he m om en t I saw her enter

the harbour .

O n she ca me on her final ta ck. Th en , as

she drew close to the is land, she fell off a

l i t t le , and, instead of mak ing the harb our

entrance, she disappeared from my sight

b e y o n d i ts outer h orn.

as, panti ng au dibl y, he reache d the other 's

s ide .

" N o, nothi ng ! " said Maso with perfect

truthfulness. " An d yo u ? " he asked poli tely.

The strange lack of menta l bala nce, of

which the ma n with the fingerless h and g av e

such s t rong ev id ence in h i s monomaniaca l -

pursuit of his enem y across the w orld , sho wed

itself here in the absu rdly big rage into

which Mas o's superfluous question th rew

him . His answer was a viol ent torrent of

abuse of Maso, Franci e, myself , our is land

and every thin g on i t , and his ow n bad l uck.

" But I will find the hateful animals s o o n , "

he dec lared, when he had quiete ned do wn a

little . " Ev er y ravi ne will I searc h as I hav e

d o n e this last. Carefully and with method

will I search them, one by one, staring a lof t

into the trees, leaving neither s t ick nor s tone

fringed the top of the cliff, abo ve where I

was, for ab ou t fifty yar ds on eac h side of

m e . After a mi nute or so, there was aa

e x c l a m a t i o n f rom Bar to that set my heart-

t h u m p i n g .

"Ecco ! this l ooks someth ing l ike a tr ack.

W e shall see where i t leads to."

Alas ! I had never taken note of those

faint marks of wear by which the grou nd

beneath the trees recorded my numerous

visi ts to my cliff s a n c t u m .

" I t leads to now her e," cam e to my quiv er

ing ears , in Maso's voice , from almos t r ight

a b o v e me, a few moments later. " S e e t h e

track—if i t b e a track—st ops at the edge of

th e cliff ."

" Not so fast , fratello mio. Tracks

usually lead som ewh ere ," said Bart o, and

hi s vo ice sounded as if he had thrust himself



Scarred Cliff Island. 457

forward t o l o o k over, holding on to a tree.

" Ha ! Yea ! it l ooks as if one c o u l d scramble

down to the flat top of that projection there.

Possibly there ma y be a way of getting

down from there to the rocks b e l o w . W h o

knows that the miserables, w h o m we are

after, ma y not be hiding amo ng these rocks !' '

" Better not try to c l imb down here ,"

adv ised M a s o . " It is for goat s' feet ."

C old and sick with fear, I prayed that

Barto might be turned from his purpose.

But , even as I pray ed, I heard hi m let him

self drop with a thud on the slopin g ledg e

of rock an d c o m e cautiously scrambling

down to the top of the buttress.

H e did not notice the little kennel in th e

cliff where I cro uch ed in an ago ny of appre

hension. He went and l o o k e d over th e

edge of the buttress.

" Assuredly, they ca nnot have got farther

clown this wa y, " he called to his brot her

in disap point ed tones. " On eve ry side it

falls to the water straight as the wall of a

house."

H e turned t o c l imb up again and cau ght

sight o f the lo w hole in the face of the cliff.

I do not think he thou ght tha t either Francie

or

I c o u l d be there, but, fo l lowing out hisdeclared intenti on of mak ing his search

thor ough , he stop ped to thro w a careless

glance into the hole.

A most careless glance—and his eyes

met m ine !

(To be continued.)

STEADY!

NlY'OW the Captain of our School,

i Was a Leader calm and cool,

A splendid man to make you do your best;

Just the fellow to admire,

He had dash and vim and fire,

But when players were too rash he'd cr y with ze st :-

" Stead y! Stead y! don't be over-ready,

Don't lose your nerve and spoil your game the reby ;

And though school-days long have gone,

In Life's Game they've helped me on,

Those cheery words our Captain used to cry.

So at Footer, as you scoot

Down the wing, ball at your foot,

And past the " halves " successfully you fly,

Joy comes surging through your heart,

And you do not wish to part

With the ball before a shot at goal you try.

Steady I Steady I don't be over-ready,

Or else your shot may miss and go full wide;

Ere you're tackled, robbed, or fall,

Don't be selfish—pass the ball,

You're playing not for self bu t for your side.

It is just the same through life,

When you're eager for the strife,

And wish to show your mettle t o the world ;

But the race is hard and long,

And not always to the strong,

For to the ground the best men oft are hurled.

Steady ! Steady 1 don't be over-ready,

Or else you will not last the rattling pace;

Never lose your head—keep cool,

For you'll find that, as a rule,

The steady, plodding fellow wins Life's race.

HAROLD DORNTNT,.

ANSWERS TO RIDDLE-ME-REES.

(See pages 341 and 355.J

1. The letter O.

2. Cork.

3 A watch.

4. A hat.

6. The wind.

SINCE the appointm ent of a successor

t o th e late Mr. G. A. Hutch ison,

th e l o v e d " veteran edito r " of the " B. O. P. ,"

there have been repeated requests for a

port ra i t of the new Edito r. This month ,

as will be seen, I am grati fying th e curiosi ty

"O f one mind, and all right honest friends."

(Tennyson.)

and other sports—a nd an " indoo r

rec rea tio n" club for the winter months,

when the evening s can be dev ote d to reading

and various pursuits. I am alw ays gla d

t o hear of the League taking some such

concrete fo rm as this, al though I recognise

the difficulty of establishing c lub s

of any kind without proper premisesand equi pme nt. It is well to begin

m o d es t ly and to let the projected

club shape itself and develop as time

g o e s on . J. L. B. will advise me

later on as to his prog ress, and no

d o u b t other readers will fo l l o w suit.

N e x t m o n t h will see readers of the

" B . O . P . " prese nted with one of the

m o s t magnificent co loured plates tha t

have ever been give n awa y with

the pape r. The plate for the J U N E

P A R T will be one depict ing

"BUTTERFLIES AND MO THS OF

THE TROPICAL FORESTS, "

specially painted by M R . A R T H U R

T W I D L E . No one of my readers , I a m

sure, will miss the oppo rtun ity of

securing th is splendid picture. At the

same t ime I may point out tha t

th e c o v e r of the J U L Y P A R T will

g i v e , in the i r natural co lours , s om e

specimens of

1

BUTTERFLIES OFAMAZON."

THE

M r. A. L . H A Y D O N ,

Editor of the " B . O . P . "

of readers. Mr. A. L. Ha yd on c o m e s t o

the task of directing th is paper with, perhaps,

the best of qual ific atio ns: he has f o l l o w e d

the " B .O .P ." c l o s e l y from the ver y first

num ber issued, he has been a co ntr ibu torto its pages in past year s, and he was

assoc iated with Mr. Hutc his on in an editor ial

cap ac i ty before assuming the contro l . Apart

f rom these facts, I ma y note tha t he is

k n o w n to a wide circle of readers as the

author of several b o o k s fo r b o y s , an d that

he finds his kee nest en jo ym en t still in

writing for the m. Colo nial readers will

be interested to kn ow tha t he has travel led

ex tensively in Cana da and Australia, a nd

they may feel sure tha t his intimate know

ledge of these parts of our Empire has

brought him into c los e symp athy with them.

Th e nex t item o n the " agen da " is the

suggestion put forward by J . L. B. that a

branch club in conn ectio n with the Lea gueof Friendship should be formed in his

town . Th e sugg estion is a g o o d one

and it receives m y hearty com m enda t i on .

J . L. B.'s idea is to fo rm a n " o u t d o o r

recreation " clu b for the summe r mo nth s—

to include c y c l i n g , nature rambles, cricket

This representat ion of the gorg eous " bird-

wing butterflies " of the tro pics will m ake

a capital com pan ion to the former plate.

* * *

THE League of Friendship was founded last

year with a view to its forming a bond

of union be-

the "B.O.P."

Its ideals are

paper which for

has stood for all

and purest and

Without binding

anydeftnite vows

on its supporters

manly, Christian

workers for good

to be slackers or

lookers-on. On

each member

bearinghisname

the League regis-

who desire some

tion badges have

in the shape of

or coat, watch-

and tie - pins,

sale at 7d . each post free.

tween readers o!

the world over,

those of the

so many yean

that is highest

b e s t i n l i f e ,

its members to

the League calls

to lead a clean,

life, to be active

in the world, not

merely passive

being enrolled,

receives a card

and number on

ter. For those

form of recogni-

been prepared

brooches for cap

chain pendants,

these being on

Applications for

membership and for badges should be ad

dressed to the Editor, "B.O.P." 4 Bouverie

Street, London, E.C. T H E O L D B O Y .



458 The "Boy's Oban Taper.

H U T C H I S O N . %

"If-

*. HUTCHISON was born in Lo nd on in

llL 1842, and remain ed a love r of the

great city, and especially of Fleet Street,

t o the ver y end. He had all a Lon do nb o y ' s l o v e of pranks an d there was little

promise in his schoo l days of the student

habits whi ch marke d his later years, when

ihe was possessed with the dete rmin atio n to

make a place for himself in literature.

It was a very real " det ermi nat ion " and

le d to the conquest of his b o d y to a rema rk

able degree. He was apprent iced to the

printing business, and his l ove for his work

an d thorou ghne ss in it led to man y difficult

tasks being left w h o l l y in his hand s. Thes e

kep t hi m often to the " we e sma ' hours " and,

t h a t his early hours of stud y mig ht not be

sacrificed to the natural demand for sleep,

he used an alaru m t o wake him up , often as

early as three o ' c l o c k . Ala s ! the call was

so m e t i m e s ineffectual. No t to be beaten,

he added a contriva nce to the alarum

which emptied a tin of co ld water over hi m

if he failed to rise an d re mo ve it in time.

D i d he ev er fail to sav e himself ? W e l l ,

y e s ! he admit ted, but not often. There

are upo n his shelves to- day four half-b ound

v o l u m e s in MS., a gra mmar entirely compi led

and written o ut by himself with up-to-date

quot atio ns and examp les, one of the fruits

-of those early days of earnest student effort.

H e had remarkable power s of endurance

and not infreque ntly wor ked during the

-whole of two or three day s and nights. In

the da ys of his ass ocia tio n wit h Dr. (after

wards Sir) Benj amin W ar d Richard son in

the Social Science Review, they had been

w o r k i n g together for three days and two

nights, wi th sca rcely a break, on the Review

and experiments on " l o c a l anaesthesia,"

w h e n the doctor saw a gh os t!

" Bet ty " ha d brou ght in a candle, and

was stand ing for a mo me nt or so in case

anything further might be required from

her. " Than k yo u, Bet ty, " said the D o c t o r .

" that will do ; g o o d night ."

S o m e t ime later Mr. Hutchison was

rather surprised to hear the doctor repeat

" T h a n k y o u , Bet ty , th a t will do ; g o o d night ."

H e cont inued his wor k howe ver, as did the

d o c t o r , but wh en some hours after Betty 's

appea rance , the doc tor with some sharpness

b e g a n , " Thank you , Bett y," his young

helper realised what the strain had done

an d br oke in, assuring the doc tor that Bet ty

had go ne to bed hours before.

D r . Richardson rose and walking to the

wash-basin at once " l e t " b l o o d and then

went off to rest. He afterwards decl ared

that at the mo me nt of speaki ng he had seen

Bet ty wit h absolute distinctness, but that

th e arrest had undoubtedly saved him f rom

brain fever.

It was while yet a yout h that Mr .

Hutch ison ma de the surrender of his life

t o Chri st; and deep indeed was the con-

C A.i y JOHN BRADFORD.

v ic t ion that the best of us can never be t he

men we ough t to be apar t f rom Him ; while

fo r the weak, beaten again and again in

hours of tempt ation , Divi ne grace can do

more than th e hardest huma n grit. This

was the burd en of his message and witness

to the ma ny w ho sough t his help.

His loyal l ove to the Master le d to an

abiding and practical interest in many forms

of pub lic Christian wor k. In his Chur ch

he served in eve ry depart ment of her life

and without stint gave of his best, especially

fo r the young peop le .

In its earliest days he was closely identified

with work for Dee p Sea Fishermen and

lads which afterwards d evel oped into the

R o y a l National Mission to this great class

of Britain's worke rs. For eight long and

often bitter weeks the men were toiling at

Th e late Mr. G. A. Hutchison.

(Editor of the " B.O.P." 1879-1912.)

sea and then had a ver y few day s of respite

at home.

T h e plague of the North Sea at that t ime

was the " Co pe r" —t he floating foreign

grog shop— where the hottest of vile

spirits were so ld to those who visited her for

the purpo se of purchasing t o b a c c o duty free.

H o w Mr. Hut ch iso n' s indi gnat ion flamed !

H o w eagerly he threw himself into every

plan for bet ter ing the fishermen's c on di ti on s

and saving them f rom the fiendish peril s by

which they were assailed. H o w patiently

he stud ied the men, the fishing, e very thi ng

connected with their work and their lives.

H e gav e many of his summe r holiday s to

trips round the coast, organising bazaars

and holdin g meeting s both on boar d the

Hospital Ship and in the various T o w n

Halls of the coast towns visited, speaking

t o few or many—sometime s thousands—

of the work of the missio n. The n he wou ld

tell in his own v iv id wa y, and with the glint

J5T»

of hu mou r which was never missing, the

stories he had gathered from the lips of the

men themselves.

On on e occasion one of the skippers told

h im in awe-s truck t ones of a terrible anxi ety

ho ha d faced in the days when the Mission

ships carried medicine but no doct or. The

bottles were numbered and it was ordinarily

easy to serve the medi cin e in the p rescrib ed

quanti ties for defined cases of sickness.

A squall, how eve r, had give n the shi p such

a tossing that two or three of the bottles-

had been broken.

W h e n the storm had subsided and patients

ventured aboard, the skipper was dismayed

t o find that the physic in No. 15, required

by one of his visitors, had all disappeared

and his anxiet y beca me acute. In the

d i l e m m a the mat e, " wh o was a bit better

scholard ," suggested that as 8 and 7 made

15 a portion might be given from each of

these bott les ! T o this th e patient eagerly

assented and the potion was duly provided

and proved efficacious !

H o w sure the men were of his sym pat hy

an d interest, as they told of the escapes

from death wh ich accounte d for the terrible

marks upon them, and how his eyes shone

as the y told what the Mis sion ships had done

t o help them in the dreary hours of darkness

and danger!

It was this knowledge and sympathy

which made his " sta teme nts" at the

annual meetings so noteworthy that the

dai ly press gave him the highest place for

efforts of the kind.

It is not too much to say that probably

no one connec ted with the Mission had quite

so comp lete a knowled ge of its history or of

its mo st intricate w orki ngs as he.

During the greater part of his life Mr .

Hutchi son lived at Leyton ston e, on the

edge of Epping Forest, in a very c o m

m o d i o u s old-fashioned house at the foot

of who se lawn a forest pon d lies. Here

he enjoye d an ideal home-life surrounded by

things in wh ich he deligh ted and which

greatly helped him in his work.

Here he received in quie t hours suc h

friends as found a little leisure to look in

u p o n hi m: the Rev . J. G. W o o d , the

naturalist, Ascot t H o p e , R. M. Ballantyne,

D r. Stradling, and ma ny others. Here t o

the end he recei ved the atten tion and enjoy ed

the compa nio nsh ip of the gentle Christian

l a d y w h o m he marrie d forty -six years ago

and to w h o m , as he so gla dly own ed, he

owed so much.

It will be interesting to boys , and many

w ho are no longer boys , everywhere, to

learn that a movement is on foot to

mak e " Iv yb an k, " as the house is named , a

monument to the late Editor of the " B . O . P . , "

and a means of abid ing help and inspiration

t o the yo un g men and lads of the Forest

district as an Institute an d H o m e .



The Son of an Anarchist. 459

" C A. H."A n Apprec ia t ion .

I I D so G. A. Hutchison, t he genial

j \ _ " veteran editor " of the " B. O. P. "

as he liked to styl e himself, is no mo re . It

is hard to realise it. Fo r th ir ty odd years—

e v e r since 1879, when t he " B o y ' s Own

Pap er " was launch ed—he skilfully con tro lle d

its destinies and steered it thro ugh ma nya shoal and quicksand to the harbour of

success . It was a grand wor k t ha t he

a c c o m p l i s h e d ; thousands of " o l d b o y s "

the world over, who never l ooked upon his

k i n d l y face, l oved him for the vast amount

of entertainment that he provided them.

On my own bookshelves s tand thirty-four

v o l u m e s of the " B o y ' s Own Annua l," the

earlier ones well-t humbed, dog-eared and

with man y a pag e miss ing. As I look at

them I find myself saying, Si monumentum

requiris, circumspice."

F r o m the lips of " G. A. H. " himself I

often heard of the early days of the pape r,

of its struggles and difficulties, th oug h t hese

were few indeed, for the " B. O. P. " gained

an almost instant success. It was a paper

that most certa inly " filled a ga p. " At t ha t

t ime the "p en ny dreadfu l" held universal

sway . The editor was fortunate in attract ing

t o his side so me of the ver y best writers

fo r b o y s of our generation . The names of

W . H. G. Kingston, II . M. Ballantyne,

G. A. Henty , Talbot Baines Reed , Ju les

Verne, Gordon Stables, David Ker, Asc ott

R. Hope, to menti on but a few, are house

hold words . Wh at magi c pens they wielded.

Wha t new world s of rom ance they un folded

before ou r eyes ! The re is no " ol d boy "

t o - d a y wh o doe s no t carry, still fresh in

his mind, the mem ory of one or more of

those wonderful serials the we ekly instal

ments of which were so eagerly awaited.

H o w keen some of us wer e on " our own

paper " in thos e day s ! Ev en the attr acti onof a c o v e r and a bright col oured plate c o u l d

not induce us to wait a whole mon th for

o ur next perusal. He was a luc ky bo y,

indeed , whose pocket -money allowed him

^0

Serial

Story.

AF EW days after P aolo 's fight with

B o b b i e , some of the s couts re ported

that they had discovered another ca mp of

bo y scouts about two miles to the north,

hidden in a fold of the hills. Th e scou t

master, Mr. Landor , decided to mar ch o v e r

with a select par ty a nd call on the new

comers , with a view to arranging som e

manoeuvres with them. Rona ld, Pao lo and

Bobbie were all three members of this party :

though Paolo with his two black eyes and

bruised face was not exactly a thing of

beauty. Between him and B o b b i e there

was an armed neutrality. B o b b i e had not

apologised for calling him a cowar d, bu t he

forbore to tease hi m; while Paol o was

always very much on his dignity when his

rival approached.

T h e camp of the scouts, who had c o m e

f rom Plymo uth, was situated in a ho l low

with the hill on three sides of it. Th e sides

the luxury of buying both weekly and

monthl y numbers. An d what trouble we

went to, rather than f o r g o our weekly

t r e a t ! Ther e is one " old b oy " I kn ow

w h o walked six miles every week to get his

c o p y of the " B. O. P. " and n o bad weather

ever deterred him f rom the journey.

I think it was because " G. A. H . " so

pecul ia r ly ha d t he " clear v isi on " t ha t he

made the " B. O. P. " what it is to-d ay. He

was eminen tly a religious man, a man

w h o se whole life was a testimo ny, but he

k n e w the human b oy and catere d for him

accordingly . Ma ny peo pl e at first wan te d

the " B .O .P ." to b e a kind o f glorified t r a c t ;

they wanted to ram religion d o w n a b o y ' s

th roat . " One old gent lema n," Mr. Hut

c h i so n tol d me, " used to br ing me lo ng

strips of M o o d y ' s sermon s which he wan ted

m e to publish. ' No , ' I said, ' we'll have

rel igion, but w e'll hav e it in soluti on an d

no t en bloc I " ' An d so it was don e, skilfulh',

quietl y, unobtrus ively , but no ne the less

effect ively. Th e mor al uplift in the storie s

of Talb ot Baines Reed , Gord on Stables, and

oth er writers bo re its fruit in g o o d season.

There have been scores of letters pouring

into the " B. O. P. " office during the pastfew weeks, all of the m express ing sincere

regret at the death of " our editor." A m o n g

them are some letters f rom the mothers of

b o y s who have had cause to th an k G o d

fo r the Christian work which he did th rough

the pages of his paper. An d I kno w

" G. A. H. " would be prou dest of these wer e

he alive to read the m. A. L.

A REMINISCENCE.

IT has been the c ust om at Clay esmor e

Schoo l , Pangbourne, to ask visitors

t o the S c h o o l to write a message to the b o y s ,

w h i c h , with the visitor' s pho togr aph, is

hung o n the walls of the cor ridor s of t he

S c h o o l . Amon gst others the la te Mr. G. A.Hutchison, for so many years Editor of

the " B o y ' s Own Pape r, " was a frequent

visitor, and hi3 mess age is an interesti ng o ne,

appealing to all b o y s , fo r w h o m he had a

C HA PTER X V . — T H E NIGHT A T T A C K,

of the hill were steep and t wo of th em were

c o v e r e d with dense bushes, so t ha t th e

c a m p could only be approached in two

di rec t ions , i.e. f rom the river valley, or

f rom the north side, where an attack ing

part y woul d have to c l i m b a f ence and slide

d o w n a steep grassy s lope . Ronald noted

all this as they entered the camp , where

they re ceived a hearty w e l c o m e f rom th e

Plymouth b o y s and their officer, who

sh o w e d them their fine t ranspor t waggon, of

w h i c h the t roo p was just ly pr oud, the

ambulance outfit, their ingenious c o o k i n g

d e v i c e s and, last but not least, their beautiful

silk troop-flag, which was kept in a water

proof case in the guard-tent and no t un

furled exc ept on such special occasi ons as

an inspection or a churc h parade.

It was finally arranged between the

scoutmasters t ha t " wa r " should be

mutually declared at one o ' c l o c k t ha t after-

l i felong affection. We quo te the message,

w h i c h we think ma y .be of gener al interest.

" TO C LA Y ES MOR E BOY S .

" B e t rue English b o y s , ever brave and

c h e e r y , and the days to c o m e will take care

of themselves, or rather will be taken care

of by Him wh o makes no mis takes.

" The times are big with promise, but

the future greatness and glory of old En glandare largely in your keeping.

" W o r k and play, watch and pray, there

fore, wit h hone st zest, an d you at least

will not doubt whether life is indee d worth

l iv ing to the full, whil e the simpl est duti es

faithfully d one will b l o s so m in to j o y s that

endure.

" May God bless and keep you every one.

" O. A. HUTCHISON."

TO THE

LATE G. A. HUTCHISON.( A T R I B U T E . )

Thy work is done:—thy work so crystalclear,

So clean, its very heart went surging forth

Unto the betterment of all our youth.

Thy work is done:—no more the guiding

hand,

So lately loosed from three-and-thirty years

Of loving toil, shall clasp in ours again.

Thy work is done:—thy work that ever

held

The thoughts of Englishmen throughout the

world

Upon their days at school,—days brave and

bright,

Days strong, whose battling hours gave kind

ling strength

To carry down the years. Thy work is

done :

Friend, rest in peace !

D. L. A. JEPHSON

^0

By W. A. B. CLEME NTS ON,

M.A.,

Author of

"A Couple of Scamps" etc.

n o o n , after which either troo p migh t attac k

w h o m they should be able to overpower.

T o capture a man it was necessary for

t w o others to hold him while the y cou nted

twenty, when he was o b l i g e d t o take off

his scarf and promise on his honour not to

take any further part in the hosti lities . If

he refused to give his " par ol e, " he was to

b e taken by his captors to their camp and

kept under guard.

O n the way back to their own camr/Scout-

master L and or allowed his part y, bei ng a

small one, to go as they ple ased, and it so

happened t ha t B o b b i e over took Paolo and

d r e w him aside.

" I want to speak to yo u, " said he.

" Wh at ab out ? " aske d P a o l o , noticing

t ha t B o b b i e l o o k e d serious.

" I've just been talking to Mr . La ndor , "

said B o b b i e , " and he is plannin g to at tac k

the enemy 's camp to-night."

T h e S o n o f anAnarch i s t :

A Tal e o f S t ra ng e My s t er y andW i l d A d v e n t u r e .



460 The "Boy's Otoun Taper.

" O h , t ha t wil l be great fun ," sa id Paolo ,

see ing an op por t uni t y of r egain ing h i s r epu

ta t ion i n Ron ald ' s eyes if not in Bo bbi e ' s .

" Y o u w o n ' t f u n k i t , then ? " said the

latter. " I t i s c r eep y work , I can t e l l j ' ou .

Awfu l ly exci t i ng ! "

" Oh , I 'v e ha d mor e exci t i n g things t o

d o th an t ha t , " sa id Paolo , th inking of his

expedi t i on to t he anarchists ' headquarters.

" I t e ll yo u what , Po l ly , " sa id B o b b i e . " I

have an idea . Perhaps I was wron g to cal l

y o u a cow ard . I ' l l g ive yo u a chan ce to

p r o v e i t , and , if yo u do wha t I say, I ' l l—

I ' l l apo logi s e . There ! "

" W ha t is i t ? " ask ed Pao lo with affected

indi f f er ence .

" W e l l , I dare yo u to go on ahead of us

w h e n w e a t tack t ha t c a m p a n d capture their

t r o op colour s out of t he guard- ten t ."

" A l o n e ? "

" Ye s, qui t e a lone . I f yo u do i t , even i f

y o u get captu red , I ' l l beg you r pardo n,

indeed I wi l l ; an d i f yo u capture their

swa nky colo ur s—w el l , I ' l l be yo ur f ri end for

l i f e . "

" R e a l l y ? "

" O n m y sc o u t ' s h o n o u r . ' 5

" Th en I wi l l do i t ."

" I f yo u do , you ' r e a t r u m p , " sa id B o b b i e ,

and he shook the o ther ' s hand.

On reaching the cam p their nostr i ls were

assa i l ed b y the s avo ury smel l of coo kin g ;

t he c o o k s were making a stew, a dish which

al l scout s wor thy of t he n ame can ma ke so

wel l . E v e r y o n e w a s r a v e n o u s , a n d , w h e n

the bugle soun ded, t he cook- hous e t ab l e w as

bes i eged by hungry b oy s car ry ing enamel l ed

t in plates, on whic h the servers pi led the

s t eaming c o n c o c t i o n .

T h e n , sitting roun d on the grass in smal l

grou ps , t hey a l l bega n to ea t and t o ta lk

wi th equal energy. Tho se wh o had bee n

wi th the embass y descr ibed the new cam p

and i ts inm ate s, whi le the rest, w h o h a d

st aye d in ca mp or wande red abou t t he

coun t rys ide , a l l had something to t e l l ; and

b o t h parties j o ine d in d i scuss ing the pro j ec t ed

n i g h t attack .

P a o l o , R o n a l d , B o b b i e , S e t h L e v e r so n a n d

a few others we re sitting t ogethe r , and S eth

was tel l ing the othe rs wha t he ha d be en

doing whil s t t hey were awa y.

" R a the r a cur ious th ing h a p p e n e d so o n

after yo u had go ne ," sa id Leve r son. " I was

help ing Jock peel pota toes for t he s t ew,

when such a queer little man walked in tothe ca mp and s to od watching us for a f ew

minutes . He was a dwar f . "

" A dwa rf ? " said Pao lo unea si ly.

" Ye s, and he had whi t e hair , qui t e whi t e ,

and his eyes were black l ike jet and ve ry

sm a l l . "

" A r e y o u sure he ha d b l ac k eyes and

whi t e hair ? " a sk e d P a o l o , n o w g r e a t l y

a l a r m e d . L e v e r so n n o d d e d . R o n a l d

tho ug ht no thin g of i t at the t ime, but he

n o t i c e d that P a o l o l o o k e d startled when the

dwar f was ment ioned, and the f ac t was

broug ht t o h i s me mo ry in a mos t a l arming

manner la ter on. Pao lo had not t o ld h im

that the red letter had been brou ght by a

dwar f , nor d id he know that I n sp e c t o r

River s had seen a per son of t ha t d e sc r i p t i o n

at the anarchists ' headquarters ; so he had

no r eason to suspect an y danger f rom this

little stranger.

But Paolo was more f r ightened than he

w o u l d h a v e o w n e d t o a n y o n e . H e h a d

little d o u b t that this dwarf was the bearer of

the red letter , and he feared that some evi l

purpose had brough t h im hither. Had hi s

e n e m y c o m e to put p ois on in his food , or to

mur der him in his sleep in reve nge for his

d i s c o v e r y of the anarchists ' secrets ? I t

w as terrible to be purs ued in this w a y , after

he had c o m e t o look upon i t al l as a horr ible

d r e a m that ha d vani shed for eve r . His mid

night fears had after al l a f ounda t ion , and

he knew t ha t i f he had to go on sentry d u t y

again at night he woul d ha ve a hard battle

wi th h imsel f t o conceal h i s ne rvousness

from the other b o y s . Bu t why should he

conc eal i t an y long er ? Oug ht he no t to tel l

Ronald and Mr . Landor , t o expla in a l l t o

B o b b i e and b eg h im to take back h i s

chal l enge ?

La te r i n t he day , when Paolo had a lmost

d e c i d e d to do this, he met Bob bie a lone amo ng

the gor se bushes , where they were both

keeping a l ook -out for t he ene my in case

t h e y sh o u l d a t temp t a raid b y d a y l i g h t .

B o b b i e l oo ked a t h im inqui r ingly .

" H a v e y o u c h a n g e d y o u r m i n d a b o u t

to-n ight ? " he ask ed with a faint susp icion

of a sneer , which decid ed Paolo a t o n c e ;

and he cr ied out def iant ly :

" N o ! I 'm not going to bac k out now ,

whateve r happe ns . On my scout ' s

h o n o u r ! "

H e h a d burnt h i s b o a t s b e h i n d h i m n o w ;

no confess ion to Mr . Lan dor or R on ald cou ld

poss ibly exc use him fo r brea king his word of

hon our . I t was a chan ce t ha t might never

o c c u r again , of conquer in g h i s ene my,

B o b b i e B r a n d r a m , a n d turning him into a

f r i end. I t was merely the cont inu at ion of

their f ight , whi ch had b een only interrupted

b y hi s fool i sh weakness , an d Pa olo was

equal ly de t e rmined no w not t o g ive in till

he had wo n. So for t he present h e d e c i d e d

to kee p his fears to himself an d no t t o tel l Mr.

La ndo r what he knew of t he dwar f till t h e

fo l lowing mornin g, by whic h t ime h e hop ed

to hav e vanqu i shed Bo bb ie onc e and for a l l .

A t e i g h t o 'c lock in the eve ning , whe n i t

was a lmost dark, S c o u t m a s t e r L a n d o r w i t h

a p i c k e d p ar ty of s ix t een scout s , t he rest

r emaining to guard the cam p, s tar ted out t o

make the attack . T h i s p ar ty h e d i v i d e d

in to two equal parts, one of which he

himself led up the v al le y to a t tack t h e c a m p

on i t s ope n s i de ; t he o ther he sent u n d e r

Ron ald ' s l eader ship round to t he ba ck of t hec a m p t o a t tack i t f rom the north b y c l i m b i n g

the f ence . The approa ch through the

val l ey was to be merely a feint to c o v e r this

at tack .

P a o l o h a p p e n e d t o b e w i t h R o n a l d ' s

par ty , whi le Bo bb ie was wi th Mr . Land or .

P a o l o in t ende d to keep wi th h is p ar ty as long

as poss ib l e and when c lose t o t h e e n e m y

to sl ip away in the dark and cr awl in to

their c a m p . F o r t h e present h e m a r c h e d

along quie t ly wi th the o ther seven b o y s ,

outw ardly ca lm , but i nwardly shaking wi th

fea r ; f or t he daring dee d was soo n to b e

d o n e , a nerve- r acking task at the b est of

t imes , but a hund redfold wor se no w t ha t

he knew the dwarf was on his t rack .

Wh en they wer e within a shor t dist ance of

t he enem y's cam p, Paolo asked Ro nal d i f

he migh t crawl dow n to the edge of the

bushes to see i f he could look i n to the cam p.

Ron ald assented , t e l l ing h im not t o be too

long and to take care the sentries did not hear

h i m .

" I f I ' m not back in t en minutes , don ' t

wai t for me ," said Paol o. " I may g et

cap ture d ; and i f not , I can join yo u farther

o n . " The n, wi thou t wai t ing for a reply,

lest his courage should fai l him, he hurried

away in to the darkness and, falling on his

hands and knees in the wet grass, craw led

stealthily in the direct ion of the e nem y's

c a m p .

R o n a l d wai t ed for some t ime for Paolo ' s

return, but as he never came back, concl uded

he had bee n cap ture d. So they crept on

across t he dusky mead ows in the d im star

l ight , l ike a t ro op of gho sts, till they were

but a few yard s f rom the thick hedg e that

b o u n d e d t h e ho l low where the c am p lay. " A

scout , who was sent do wn to the hedge to

r econnoi t r e , returned t o say that t he enemy

were on the alert, for he had heard one of

their sentries say to a comrade, " I can hear

t h e m m o v i n g u p there."

R o n a l d s a w h e must c h a n g e h i s c o u r se ;

so he drew his par ty away f rom the camp ina nor th-wester ly d i r ec t ion , till t hey r eached

a fenc e, whi ch div ide d the f ields. Wh en

they were about t o c l imb this f ence , t hey

su d d e n l y heard a so und of scamper ing f ee t ,

and , wi thout s toppi ng to think, th e boys ,

whose nerves were tense wi th exci t ement ,

were throw n in to a panic and woul d have

turned t o run , had not Ronald checked

them wi th one whi spered word : " Hor se s! "

It wa s on ly so me horses in the nex t field

taking a gal lop , and e very scout , when he

k n e w this, fel t rather asha med o f his f r ight .

Ove r the fence they cl i mbe d, and in a few

minutes , by cr eeping a long under t he hedge

on their right, arr ive d at the north side of

t he e nem y's c amp , wi th only some bushes

and a steep slope betw een th em and t he tents.

E v e n then t hey nar rowly escaped de

t ec t ion , f or two of t he defending scout s ,

hearing a rustling, came a long and thrust

into the bushes with their s t a v e s ; b u t

Ronald and h i s band kept still and held their

breath till th ey ha d pas sed by.

Af t er wai t ing a little longe r to disa rm

suspic ion , Ro nal d led h i s men away f rom

the hedge, and appr oach ed the camp lower

d o w n near the fence on i ts northern s ide ,

which was the wea kest po int in the pos i t ion.

Meanwhi l e , i n t he val l ey Lando r ' s scout s

were crawling-up by stages, lying f lat on their

s toma chs in t he long grass . Th e enem ywere watchful on this side an d had st retched

acros s the op en long st r ings, t o which were

a t tached t in cans , ket t les, e tc. , so that a n y o n e

s t u m b l i n g o v e r these might g ive the a la rm;

a n d this i s wha t actual ly hap pen ed, for one of

L a n d o r ' s par ty accidenta l ly k i cked a buck et .

A sent ine l c r i ed " W h o goes there ? " an d

on recei ving no answ er , ran ba ck to the

guard-tent. I n another minute the alarm

was g iven and about twen ty exci t ed young

sters c a m e rushing out into the open, yel l ing

tr iumphantly.

This was just t he oppo r tuni ty which

Ron ald wante d , and cry ing " Charge ! "

he leapt ove r the fence followed by his six

men, and the p ar ty sl id and rol led dow n the

steep slop e in a mos t undignif ie d manner

i n to the very heart of the enemy' s camp .

W h e n the exci t ed defender s returned

after captur ing one of Land or ' s party, t h e y

f o u n d their ca mp a l ready occu pied by



The Son o_f an Anarchist. 461

Ronald and his val iant six and were

re luc tant ly compel led to own themselves

beaten. Landor ' s party , as they came up,

answered Ronald ' s hail with a burst of

cheering, which was lou dly ech oed b y

their cour teous opponents . T he one

prisoner of war was released, and Ro na ld ,

w h o was looking for Pao lo, was astonish ed

to find that he had not been capt ured after

all . Som e one suggested that he was

frightened and had run home , but this

idea was rejected by most of the tro op,

part icularly b y B o b b i e , who we nt up to

the Ply mou th scoutm aster and asked him

to look an d see if his troo p-fl ag wa s saf e.

T h e officer was surprised at this request ,

but went at o n c e to the guard- tent and

re turned presently in grea t dismay to say

that the flag was no longe r there.

" Then," sa id B o b b i e in a clear vo ice , so

that eve ryone c o u l d hear, " I kn ow where

it is. One of our scouts —the o ne wh o is

missing—has cap ture d it and taken i t back

to our ca mp . I dared him to do it . "

T h e officer was relieved to hear that hi s

flag was safe, an d Ro na ld that P a o l o ' s

disappearance was accou nted fo r ; but

before movi ng away bot h t roops gave three

hear ty cheers for the da r i ng young scou t

who had so c lever ly outwi t ted the guardians

(To be continued.)

of the colours . T hen, after mutual c o m

plime nts and cheers, the a t tacking fo rce se t

ou t for hom e, while the defenders retired t o

e n j o y the i r well -earned rest . T h e a t tacking

p a r ty marched gai ly back to their c a m p ,

and sta r t led the somewhat s leepy sentries

b y creep ing up softly from different sides

and rushing in with a wild yel l .

Grea t was the j oy of those left behind at

the i r com rad es' success ; but their happiness

was short-li ved, for, whe n inquiries be gan to

be made, i t was discovered that Paolo had

n o t re turned to the camp and that no one

had seen or heard a ny t h i ng of hi m at

all.

Our note Book.A WO N D E R F U L SINGING INSECT.

ONE of the greatest novelties of the present seasonis the introduction, for the first time, of the Fuku

Moushi. or Happy Bell, of Japan. It is a tiny insect

with brilliant musical capabilities, which needs no

special care except to be fed once a day on a little

Th e " Happy Bell " of Japan.

tomato, cucumber, or lettuce. Water is not needed.It will then charm its owner and all around it bysinging merrily with silvery, Ante-like voice. Aftersome years of crossing and careful breeding it has beenbrought to a high state of perfection, and in its tiny cage,measuring a few inches across, it charms all whohear it. The Emperor of Japan and other membersof the Royal family have taken a great interest inthe " Happy Bell," and so the insect, has become afashionable pet among the elite of Japan.

4 4 4REAL GRIT.

AUDUBON, the famous American ornithologist andartist, and one of the most indefatigable searchers aftertrue knowledge, kept a journal throughout his busyand wandering life. In his " Life,*' included in the" Everyman's Library," his many privations andtriumphs are faithfully and vividly recorded. Aftermany disappointments and obstacles, always cheerfullyovercome, it was to England he had to turn before liecould get his great wcrk, " The Birds of America,"published.

Here are his own words: " I have balanced myaccounts with * The Birds of America,' and the wholebusiness is really wonderful; forty thousand dollarshave passed through my hands for the completion of the first volume. Wh o would believe that a lonelyindividual, who landed in England without a friendin the whole country, and with only sufficient pecuniarymeans to travel through it as a visitor, could haveaccomplished such a task as this publication ? Whowould believe that—once in London—Audubon hadonly one sovereign left in his pocket, and did notknow of a single individual to whom he could applyto borrow another, when he was on the verge of failurein the very beginning of his undertaking ; and. aboveall, who would believe that he extricated himself fromall his difficulties, not by borrowing money, but byrising at four o'clock in the morning, working all day,

and disposing of his works at a price which a commonlabourer would have thought little more tban sufficientremuneration for his work ?

M

To give you an idea of my actual difficulties duringthe publication of my first volume, it will be sufficient

to say that, in the four years required to bring thatvolume before the world, no fewer than fifty of my

subscribers abandoned me I An d whenever a fewwithdrew I was forced to leave London and go to theprovinces to obtain others to supply their places, inorder to enable rae to raise the money to meet theexpenses of engraving, colouring, paper, printing, & c ,and so with all my constant exertions, fatigues, andvexations, I find myself now having but 130 standingnames on my list."

To have compiled such a great work is in itself amonument of carefulness and industry; but to becompelled to leave his own native land and seekencouragement among strangers for the realisation of his beloved task, to be his own artist, his own publisher,his own book canvasser, to wander over half the continent of America to get his studies at first hand, andto travel through the greater part of England, Scotlandand France, to create and maintain an interest in hispublished work, is prodigious. Ye t Audubon did allthis with a stout heart, and the secret of it all is simplythis—he loved his work.

To a bey with a love of Nature and open-airventure, "T h e Life of Audubon" will be a mine of bliss and delight, while the lessons tha t it teaches should

linger long in bis memory.

A MODEL A E R O P L A N E THATW I L L P L Y .

READERS interested in aviationt»will be pleased

to know that there is a model aeroplane that

will fly for at least a quarter of a mile and does not

smash when it comes to the ground.

We had occasion recently to visit the workshops of

Messrs. Mann & Grimmer, Ltd. , Arlington Road,Surbiton, and spent a most enjoyable afternoon

there seeing how the aeroplanes were made. Th e

utmost care is used in the construction ; the attention

to detail and the genius which comes of an infinite

capacity for taking pains are qualities that make

for success in model aeroplane manufacture. In

wide circle to the left and then another to the right.

The elevator of this model in front is so arranged

that it can be moved to the right or left for circling orkept in the dead centre for straight flights. There

was a very gusty wind blowing at the time, but it

(See

A Cageful of Singers .

1 A Wonderful Singing Insect")

had no effect on the model, which sailed along as

serenely as if it were a calm day.

Curiously enough, the bulk of the business of the

firm of Messrs. Mann & Grimmer is done abroad ;

they think this is caused by the large numbers of cheap

models from France and Germany that are sold in

A Real Flier.

these respects Messrs. Mann & Grimmer are unsur

passed. Each 'plane sent out has stamped on itthe signature of Mr. R. F. Mann together with a certi

ficate guaranteeing flight. One great advantage is

that Mr. R. F. Mann is a model flyer himself and one

of the most successful exponents of the art.

We then went to Esher Common with Mr. R. F .

Mann and witnessed some splendid trial flights with

a model just completed. Th e model flew in a straight

line for nearly half a mile, then it was set to take a

this country, the majority of them not being able to

fly a yard, and if they do fly they smash on falling toth e groun d. This has disapp ointed many mod el -

flying aspirants. All we can say to boys who intend

taking up the sport of aeroplane-flying is, write for the

firm's catalogue, which is beautifully got up, and only

costs 6d. After reading it you will be certain to want

a " Mann " monoplane, and when you have it you will

be more than satisfied as to its flying powers and

remarkable powers of endurance.



462 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.

Und er th e E d g e of the Earth:

A S t o r y o f T h r e e C h u m s and 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.

TH E first mor ning of the sum mer holi days

saw Morris and H utt on on the platform

of Luneeheste r Station, with the prospe ct

of some seven weeks or so of wild, un

tramme lled freed om in front of th em—

a free dom they were to share t o g e th e r ;

for , in addi tion t o the future happ iness laid

up f or Le ona rd Morri s in the prom ise of a

t r ip to the India n hill count ry—a vision of

eye-opening glory tha t no w dwelt with him

in every going out and coming in—theprese nt en joy me nt was to be his of a long

holida y spent in the co mp an y of his b o o n

companion .

" T h e pater ," Hutton had told him a

short fortnight previously , "s ay s he won 't

take ' no ' for an answe r. Y o u ' v e go t to

mana ge to live ou t t he whole boili ng of the

vac . at Gr ayle Hall, whethe r yo u like it or

n o t . "

" W e l l , " Morris had answered , " i f I 've

got t o , there 's an end of all resist ance. Bu t

y o u bet your b o o t s , H ut t , o ld man , I 'm

going to like it all right. Ther e wo n' t be

any mistake about t h a t ! "

W h en , therefore, the north express halted

fo r a few mom ent s at Luneehes ter, and the

two b o y s ensc onced themselves in c o m

for tab le and solit ary gra nde ur in a first-class

comp art ment , one at least of the two preened

himself upo n things being don e in style . T o

Hu tt on the affair was quite in the ord ina ry

co u r se ; but Morris 's upbringing had of

necessity been on a less extr avaga nt scale,

and s ome of the ple asing ljttle luxuri es of

life, whi ch we affect to despise when out of

our reach, were beginning to appeal to him.

He threw his bag and stick carelessly on to

the rack overhead, and flung himself d o w n

in the soft upholstered cor ner by the window

with negligent ease.

Th e train m o v e d out, gliding past the

old castl e an d parish churc h, and was s oon

thundering across the square and ugly iron

bridge spanning the Lon e Rive r, high abo ve

the water and t he quays. Under the steady

rhyt hm of her swing the b o y s gave them

selves up t o idle dreami ng, till, the first

small station slipping past, and the grea t

train no w throw ing the quic k miles behind

her, the l ow flats of the ba y la y on their left,

CHAPTER IV .—- A HOL ID A Y VISIT.

and in the far distance they c o u l d see the

nort hlan d rising to meet the hills.

" A h ! " s ighed Morr is con t en te d ly ;

" p o o r old K en ! "

Hut ton stretc hed himself.

" A y , p o o r o ld c o c k ! " he said, half

unthin kingly. " I wo uldn ' t change with

h im for a tid y fortu ne."

R em em b er in g how , the day before ,

K en n ed y had bidd en the two a some what

melancho ly adieu, not quite untinged with

envy , Morr is co'uld not forbear to smile at

his friend 's easy-going complacency .

" Change with him ! " he excl aime d.

" I should j o l ly well th ink you wou ldn ' t !

I say, Hutt on, it seems to me things get

awfully queer ly doled out at t ime s. Here

are we going to have the jolliest of g o o dt imes, and in another day or two there' ll be

p o o r ol d Ke n tied t o a bank st ool like a

chained dog ."

" Tell yo u what ! Bot her ed if I don ' t ask

the p o o r beggar hom e for a week or two

nex t year, if he can get a hol ida y whe n I 'm

there," said Hutton, and Morris applauded

th e g o o d intention.

This stage of the jou rne y was very s hort.

A fe w miles mor e, and the expre ss was

standing at t he plat form of a junct ion.

Here the two lads descended, their further

way bein g alo ng a branc h line that skirted

the hea d of the ba y and ran in under the

distant hills. Afte r loung ing rou nd the busy

platform and in particular hanging about

the bookstal l—the magn et to most r ailwa y

travellers—they sauntered leisurely across

to where the other train was waiting, and

where their luggage had already be en

transferred.

A s Hut ton swung himself up into the

carriage a rough-looking fel low was standing,

hands in pocke ts, at the d o o r of the third-

class refreshme nt-room. His eyes lit up

as he wa tche d the bo y disappear into the

train, and- had anyo ne been near the y mi ght

have heard the savage undertone of an oath.

H e turned away as the train started, so as

to escape the notice of the b o y s , should either

hap pen t o be loo kin g in his dire ctio n as the

carriage passed that part of the sta tion ;

but he gaze d after the m again when t hey

had passed, and shrugged his shoulders.

" A y ! " he growl ed, " a day in front

o ' t' fair ; but there'll be tim e yet . I'll

n o n e f o r g e t ! "

Uncons cious and uncarin g of this, t he

two friends laughed and talked together for

the remain ing short time they were to be

upon the journey, planning all manner of

g o o d things for the forth comin g holidays.

Gray le Hal l stoo d upo n the slope of a

hill at the he ad of a sandy cre ek where t he

Ker ne River , rolling down from the uplands

t o lose itself in the sands and shallows, was

spanned by a long viaduc t, which carried

the railway to the farther shore. A c r o s s

the sa nds and the green fields of the ot he r

side the hills c o u l d be seen, the hi gher

peaks peering over the shoulders of the

lesser heights through the distant films of

summ er haze, or standing, when thewinter 's .grip was keen, white-tipped and

dazzl ing in the frosty light. Th e Hal l

itself st ood just ab ov e the little vil lage of

Burnbrae , whic h straggled in pictures que

irregula rity alon g the hill-side, or upo n the

edge of the piled -up sands, left bare for the

greater port ion of each day. Usually when

th e tide rose it cam e with sudden rush,

and o ne of the features of the cre ek was the

frothing wave, from one to three feet high,

which lippe d noisily up the channel t o

herald the incoming flood.

Almost befor e he was out of the c arriage ,

when they reached Burnbrae Station, Hu tton

wa s smothered in a girl's wild embrace.

" Stea dy on, Phyll, old gi rl !" he ex

claimed in a half-shamed way. "H er e' s

M o r r i s ; don ' t forget him !" An d he laughed

wickedly.

The girl turned a bright face to Leonard,

and held out her hand . In the flash of the

dark eyes, and the frank, easy smile of

heal thy camaraderie, the lad felt on theinstant tha t here was a girl worth knowing,

on e for who se soci ety a boy must be the

better, or there was little hope inde ed for

h im.

" Pleased you're c o m e , " she said breezily,

as Morris, havin g raised his cap , took he r

proffered hand. Alt hou gh a year you nge r

than her brothe r she had already out grow n

his shorter stature, and s too d near Morris's

o w n height. " W e ' v e all heard lots and

lo ts abou t you , " she con t inu ed ; "a nd I

can tell yo u y o u ' v e a g o o d deal to live up to,

Mr. Morris . Denn is never seems to get

tired of singing you r prais es."

Morris flushed self-consciously.

" You o ld rotter ! " he said, turning t o

the grinning Hutt on. " But I'll be even

with you ."

A n d in the merr y laugh that fol lowed hi s

remark all trace of awkwardnes s was swept

away .

" Armstr ong' ll see to your things," said

the girl, as the train glide d off again on its

northward journey , and they were left

standing on the platform. Armst rong, the

porter , touch ed his ca p and said, " Certai nly,

sir ; I'll ha ve 'e m up to the H all during

the mor nin g; " and the three set out from

the little station al ong the road towards the

village.

" It 's abou t time y ou youn g men cam e,"

chatted Ph yll is; " what with father awa y,

and m oth er scared pret ty wel l out of her

l i fe."

She laughed airily.

" Yo u don ' t know what a time we had

last night. Burglar s at last, Denny dear ! "

" A t l a s t ! " echoed Morris, startled out

of himself by the fantast ic annou ncem ent.

" Ha ve you been waiting some time for

them, Miss Hut ton ? "

The girl laughed again : her whole

existence seemed to Morris to be a series of

bright, happy peals of laughter. Hutt on

himself took up the explana tion.

" Ah, you don' t k now us, Morris," he

exclaimed. " When eve r the pater 's aw ay

—and that 's pretty often—the mater

settles down to receive burglars. She

always says she knows they 're coming. I f

she had her way ther e'd be spring-guns and

man-traps al l over the grounds, and eve ry

wretchedwindow-catch and

d o o rwould be

connected with some silly burglar-alarm,

that would frighten her, if it ever went off,

a j o l ly sight worse than it would the burglar.

She really ought to ha ve a g o o d dog ; but the

funny thing is, I believe she's mor e afraid



~m

Under the Edge Earth. 463

of a dog than she is of a burg la r even . But

what was up, Phyll ? "

" Oh, we 'd al l go t off to be d, af ter looking

up , and goin g the usual rounds, and pee ping

into all the cup boa rds, and loo king inside

the piano "

" Oh, Miss Hu tto n ! " laughed M orris .

" Wel l , really, it wasn't far short of that.

A n y w a y , we got off at last, and I was in

just the lovel iest sleep whe n I felt so me on e

shake me— yo u needn ' t look scared , Denny ,i t was on ly mothe r ."

" W a s she the burglar ? " queried Hu tto n.

" No, she wasn ' t . Don ' t you be too

sarcast ic , or you ' l l hear nothing. She' d

just c o m e in to tell me she was certain she

had heard a noise. Of course I got up, a nd

tr ied to assure her i t was nothing, or the

wind—though there wasn ' t any , as i t

happene d—or cats , or cook snoring. Bu t she

said, No , she had h eard it in the Shiv erin g

R o o m . "

" The Shivering R o o m ! " exc la im ed

Morris.

Hutton laughed.

" Yes , my boy . Wher e I suppose you ' l l

s leep to-night , an d pleasant dream s to you !

I t ' s a funny sort of a con cern . Fo r some

unknown reason there's a dark cor r idor

leading nowhere— a sort of a s tretche d-out

b o x - r o o m — w h i c h runs down one side of i t .

I t ' s a kind of passage and cupb oar d kno cke d

into one, with a glass door , which gives i t a

beastly creepy look at night . Phy ll cal ls i t

the ' Shiv ering R o o m , ' because , al tho ugh i t

isn't haunted, she says that i t ought to be ."

" Wel l , " said Morr is, " I ' ll try n ot to fret

over that. Ev en if it isn' t haun ted, I dare

say I shall s leep al l r ig ht ! Bu t please don' t

let us s top your story, Miss Hutton."

" Y o u can call her Phyll , l ike the rest of

us," put in Hut ton, with a grin. " W e onl y

al low people to address her as Miss Hu tto n

on Sundays and spec ia l ho l ida ys ."

The gir l smiled at her brother 's off-handed

wa y of speaking, and so far fr om takingoffence, nodded a f fab ly .

" Do n' t yo u mind his nonsense , but just

call me Phyll is , al l the sa me ," she said ;

" • Miss Hut ton ' is too staid for a ma dc ap l ike

me . But about that fr ight last n i g h t . Y o u

may well imagine what tre mors w e tw o poor

women things were in. Ther e was mot her

as white as a newly-b leached shee t , and

poor wretched me gett ing into the state of a

terrified rab bit. I belie ve I c c u l d h a v e

squeaked l ike one in anothe r minute. W e

just s too d and l is tened. An d if there's

anyth ing I hate, it 's having to listen for

noises with mothe r at night . Yo u can

hear such a lot —an d such lou d ones . W e

hadn't been wait ing l ong, before—whir r - r

whir-r-r "

She suddenly c lu tched a t Hut ton ' s a rm.

and though i t was b road day l igh t that y o u n g

gent leman gav e qu i te a p ronoun ced ju mp ,

to her unrestrained delight .

" I t h o u g h t m o t h e r w o u l d h a v e d r o p p e d

through the floor, and I kno w I should ha ve

fol lowed her pret t y sharply. I ex pec t we

should bo th have sc reeched , on ly the n ex tm o m e n t we realis ed it was the c lock

beginn ing to str ike. Of cours e i t s tru ck

twelve—jus t abou t the nastiest thing i t

c o u l d hav e struck, as we were feeling at the

t i m e . "

" Y ou seem to have g o t ov er you r

f r ig h t a n y h o w ," c o m m e n t e d H u t t o n . " W h a t

happene d ? D id yo u rush out and fell th e

burg la r that wasn' t there, or did yo u scream

fire and blu e murd er, in the hope s the

vil lage wou ld wak e up and c o m e to see about

it, or "

" W e didn ' t do any th ing ha l f so id io t ic .

W e just clun g t ight to each other, and, wit h

candles in our free hands, crept up to the

servan ts ' r o o m . A n d then the two gir ls

and mot her and I p lucked up enoug h courage

to go al l ov er the place , eve n i nto the

Shiver ing R o o m ; a nd I believe wo manag ed

to see every single thing that c o u l d be seen,

short of a real l ive burglar , before w e c rept

back t rembl ing to our beds ."

" A n d that was the en d of the Gr eat To -

D o ! "

" No t qu i te , Mr . Sh arp ! Mother would

insist som e one had been abo ut. She seem ed

qui te d i sappoin ted we hadn' t f o u n d some

thing definite ; thou gh, m y gra cious m e '.

if we had, I b eliev e half of us wou ld ha ve

g o n e off into hyst erics, and the rest h a v e

flopped fainting o n the floor. Oh, we were

a b e v y of pret t y b eauties, I can tel l yo u.

A n v h o w , this morning mother sen t straight

off ' for P i l c o t t . "

" That ' s the Burnbrae b o b b y , " H u t t o nexplain ed for Morr is ' s benefi t .

" The v i l l age cons tab le , we ca l l h im,"

cor rec ted Phyll is with m o c k dignified air.

" Well , Pi lco t t came, and then the fun began

again. He went al l ove r the grou nds loo king

fo r a ' clue ,' and at last, r ight unde r the

Shiver ing R o o m w i n d o w "

She wen t off into a p eal of infectious

laughter .

" W h y can ' t you te l l us straight o u t ,

wi thout so muc h laughing , you s i lly Phyl ly ,

y o u ? " said Hu tto n.

" I th ink ," said Morris smiling, " that

Miss Hu tto n tel ls the story v ery nice ly ;

d o n ' t y o u interrupt. Please go on ," he

a d d e d , turning to the gir l .

" I won der why v i l l age po l iceme n a re

such puddi ng-h eads ? " said the yo un g lady ,

with unjust generalis at ion. " Ther e was

Pi lco t t , under the Sh iver ing R o o m w i n d o w ,

qui te exc i t ed over a ' c l ue ' — a great , ugly

foot mar k in a soft part of the flower b e d .

A n d mo the r go t quite as exc ited , and said,

' I to ld yo u so ! ' and ' Wh at a m e r c y w e

were n' t al l ki l led in our s leep ! ' and funnythings l ike that . The n P i lco t t sa id we mus t

take care and no t distu rb the place, and

could som e one gua rd i t ti l l he ' d m ade

further search ? I believe betw een the tw o

of them they qu i te thought they had seen

the actual and awful burglar in that foo t

print ; and mother said Jane w o u l d stand near

while P i lco t t went on search ing ; and Jane

said ' N ot al l alone, please, m a' am ; I dursn't ,

not to save my life ! ' an d—o h, dear ! "

She went off into anot her f i t of la ughter .

" I t ' s real ly to o fun ny ! An d then / said,

' Pi lco t t , pu t you r foo t i n t o that m a r k ,

ple ase ' ; an d he di d, an d it fitted t o a hair.

You shou ld hav e seen his face ! ' You' l l

be say ing I 'm the burg la r nex t , miss , '

he said. Bu t I tol d him , no t a bi t of i t ;

o n l y he 'd been rou t ing round there half an

hour before, and ma de the ma rk himself .

There 's dete ctiv e wor k for yo u ! "

T h e y h ad tu rned round by the shore and

the vill age fron t as she finished spe aki ng,

and, s tand ing near th e l i t t le s tone pier-head

that jut ted out into the sandy channel , was

the figure of the wo rt hy Pilc ot t himself.

He saluted grav ely as the three passed, and

smiled whe n Phyll is gaily asked him if he

had thought o f any more c lues . But Hut t on ,

l ooking bac k after they had passed, saw th e

man sign to him , and ex cus ing himself he

left Morris and Phyll is to cont inu e their w a y

alone fo r the m ome nt .

W h e n later on he and his fr iend were to

gether, af ter Mrs. Hu tto n had w e l c o m e d t he

visi tor and ho ped h e wo ul d f ind his s tayamong s t them a p leasan t one , Hut ton to ld

him the result of his inte rvie w with the con

stable.

" Pilcott isn ' t such a pudding-head as Miss

Phyll is ima gin es, " he said. " Just look

h e r e . "

He showed Morr i s a th ick , ug ly- loo king

clasp-knife.

" Pic ked up not far from the S hiverin g

R o o m w i n d o w , " he said. " Bu t old Pilc ott

did n' t sa y a wo rd, for fear of fr ightening

mot her worse ; o nly he 's certain there w as

some one abo ut, an d up to no good . I should

like to be at the b ot to m of i t ."

TO BE CONTINUED-\ • ,. r tin



•

464 The "Boy's Oban Taper.

SCOUT.—The bowie knife is a long, sto ut knife tha t is carried by Americ an hunters and

trappers, mostly in the West. Colonel James Bowie, who gave the weapon its name,

was a Kentu cky man and a famous fighter. He introduced the knife and popularised

it. As a rule the " bowie " has a bone handle and a blade abou t 15 inches long, the

latter havi ng a width of 1± inches at the hilt.

KOA H. — I f you have followed this column during recent months you must have seen your

queries answered in replies to other corresponden ts. To secure such a position as yo udesire, apply to one of the big steamship lines and state what qualifications you possess.

I t is possible tha t y ou mi ght begin as a purser's clerk, or as an under-steward. Make

personal application at a shipping office if you can, rather than by letter.

A NEW H E A D E R . — Y o u must allow Sir Walter Scott the usual poetic licence, and assume

tha t De Bourne's horse had enough intelligence to avoid the pitfalls laid for him. Bu t

war-horses have done many more wonderful thing s; there are stories which you would

think m ore incredible than this incident.

L. McB.—It is possible to tighten the strings by means of pegs, but we do not advise this,

as they are bound to work loose again ere long. Get a maker or athlet ic outfitter toattend to the matter ; the charge would be very small.

CYRIL FEREDAY.—Your suggestion is a good one, but we cannot carry it out in the present

volume. When the new volume begins we hope to arrange for such a series of notes

as you want. There are many readers who, like you, are keen gardeners.

R . L, M.—The spelling of the Canadian town is Calga ry, with one " r." It is true, however,

that it was named after the Scottish town of Calgarry by Colonel Macleod of the

I t .N.W.M.F . , when the first settl ement was made there. The error in spelling was never

rectified once it had been made.

DONALD.—It is too true that most club cricketers have only a slight acquaintance with

the laws of the game. As it happens, Mr. Gilbert Jessop, the famous player, has written

an article on this very subject for the " B.O.F." You will be interested to read this.

C . H E R O N . — W e should have to double the paper at least, if we tried to include everything

tha t our readers are " particula rly interested in." A t present there is no room for such

a feature. It will be dealt with, so far as is possible, in the pages'devoted to '* Ho w

to Make " articles.

IT. J. T . (Canada).— The specimen of you r work, which y ou send, is so small tha t it is difficult

to judge of your ability . If you can make original designs for various kinds of fabrics

you had better get in touch with an agent who knows the industrial world and who can

place your work for you. Are you attending any art classes ? If so, your master

ought to be able to advise you.

J . R . HARDING.—This is the only explanation of the name " Black Maria " that we have

heard ; the auth ority is D r. Brewer.—" Th e tradition is that the va n referred to was

so called from Maria Dee, a negress. who kept a sailor's boarding -house in Boston . She

was a wom an of such great size and strength that the un ruly st ood in dread of her,

and when constables required help it was a common thing to send for Black Maria,

who soon collared the refractory ones and led them to the lock-up. So a prison van

was called a ' Black Maria.' "

A N ENTHUSIASTIC R E A D E R . — N o , a bull-finch is not an expensive bird to keep. Get some

meal-w orms and mixed bird seed. In the case of a goldfish and a leech, we should

think the latter would be safe owing to its size.

EXERCISE.—Yours is a frequent query. There are no special exercises to be recom mend ed

beyo nd the usual ones of breathing—fo r chest expansion - an d arm and leg exercises.

Healthy out-door sports of all kinds, dumb-bell and Indian-club exercise should do

you goo d, but it would be foolish to promise you an y conseq uent a ddition to your

height . Go in for the morning " cold tub " as regularly as possible.

S XUOOLQ-ER



THE "BOY ' S OWN P A P E R " ] [London: 4 Bouverie, Street, E.C.

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Boys Own Paper 19th April 1913