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NO. 40, VOLUME XXXV.] S A T U R D A Y , J U L Y S, 1 9 1 3 . P r i c e On e P e n n y .[ A L L E I G H T S R E S E R V E D - ]

(A

P R I N C E H E N R Y .

new photograph of the King's third son.)

 [Photo. Lafayette, Dublin.

C R I C K E T L A W .W h a t d o V o u k n o w a b o u t

th e Ru les ?

By GILBERT L. JESSOP.

TT m a y n o t perhaps strike everyone in

J the same way, but i t seems to me that

Cricket has i ts claims as a subje ct for the

c la s s - room. Whi lst I d o not go so far as

t o a d v o c a t e tha t the general curriculum of 

a school shoul d be distur bed by the sub

s t i tut ion of Cricke t for such a subj ect for

instance as Eucl id, yet I do say this, that

to learn the laws of the g am e is g o o d exercise

fo r the mi nd and to app ly the m is a useful

lesson in deduct ive log ic .

Cricket can be as freely illustrated b y

exper iments as the fascina t ing subjec t

Chemistry, and i t has this a d v a n t a g e o v e r

the sc ience of symbols—its exper iments

are carried out in the open air . Quest ions

migh t be set on the theory of the game

conta in ing bothtes ts of mem ory and problems

wi thout end .

If  a boy were given the choice of learning

the ax io ms of Euc lid or the laws of Cricket

I th ink  one migh t be exon erat ed from a ny

accus ation of " cock sured ness " in h azardin g

tha t the wor ks of the inven tor of the pons

asinorum would have to take a back  seat.

A n d yet I ' l l be bound tha t the average

s c hoo l boy kno ws h is Eucl id bet ter than he

doe s the restr ict ions gover nin g the gam e

of  Crick et. Wh ic h is , of cours e, onl y as i tshould be . W e mus t not forget that , after all.

Cricket is only a game, and tha t t o take t o o

serious a view of a pasti me doe s injury not

on l y to the indi vidua l but to the gam e itself .

There is a m ean in all th ing s; exce ss is

possible and depl orab le even in Cricket.

A m o n g s t all classes of crieketei-s there is

a general ignora nce of the rules. Bu t

cricketers are no whit worse than players

of  other games . Th e footb aller f inds his

'pons asinorum in the " o f f - s i d e " r u l e ;

and golfers are remin ded perhaps m o r e

f requent ly than any o ther b o d y of spor t smen

tha t their knowledge of the rules is much

be low the standard of  their play .

In such a simple matter as the imple ments

of  Cricke t , if To m, Dick  o r Harry were askedon the spur of the mom ent to state w h a t

they kn ew of the R ul e relating to the Ba ll ,

in the ma jori ty of cases their k n o w l e d g e

w oul d be found to be incomple te . The

weigh t of the ball wou ld genera lly b e

g i ve n as five ounc es and a half, but the

diameter would usua l ly escape ment io n .

A n d yet the diameter of the ball to some

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626 The "Boy's Ote>n Taper.

bowlers i s o f conside rab ly more importance

than the we igh t .

The Rule says that " th e ball shall we igh

not  less than five oun ces and a half —no r 

more than five ounces and three quarters. I t

shall measure not less than nine inches, nor 

more than nine inches and a quarter." Of 

the exist ence of the marg in all owe d bot h in

we igh t and d iamete r most peop le a re

ignor ant. The smaller the ball the better

can one grip i t—and the lighter it is the

easier will i t swer ve. In the case of bowl ers

w h o possess such a pronounced swerve as

G e o r g e Hirst and Albe r t Rel f   the extra

we igh t and dia mete r wo uld be a little

h a n d ic a p .

K n o w l e d g e of  this rule o n c e served me

in good s tead . Trave l l ing hom e from

Manche ster after a ma tch against L ancashi re ,

a self-constituted critic unceasingly bored

m y ears by expounding to my fe l low

passengers his opinions relating to the law

of  " run out ." Th e quest ion which was

being deb ate d was as to whether a batsm an

wh o disturbs his wicket when running out 

a hi t shou ld be g iven ou t —" h i t wic ke t" o r

" run out. " He had almo st succ eeded in

c o n v i n c i n g those in the carriage that hi so p i n i o n that the batsm an shoul d be give n

out " hit wi ck et " was corr ect, when I

intervened, and suggested that the ba tsman

incurred no penalty at a ll .

My interruption was not taken in very

good part and I was asked " what di d I kno w

a b o u t th e g a m e ? " I e x p la in e d to m y

o p p o n e n t that I had had a g o o d deal of 

pract ical experi ence of the appli catio n of 

the laws and migh t possib ly kno w more

than he did. The reu pon he challen ged me

to pro ve my superiority b y answer ing a

quest ion on the declar ation rule . Hav ing

a c h i e v e d this to even his satisfact ion I

f loored him with this very Ball rule . He

was hopelessly at sea as regards the diame ter,

nor were any o f the ot her pas sengers wh oh a d taken part in the con troversy more

enligh tened. Fort unat ely I had a

" Wis den ' s Alma nack " wi th me , o the rwise

that journey might have been made rather

an uncomfortab le one .

N o w , if people acc ust ome d to Crick et—

at any rate as spec tator s—ca n be so ignorant

of  the rules, so me excu se may surely be

found for the boy -um pir e who gav e a b ats

ma n out bec aus e he hit the ball wit h one

hand on the bat onl y.

Ther e are few of us who have not suffered

in the da ys o f our you t h f rom miscom

prehension of so me rule or other . In nrore

than one " pick u p " ga me have I been

given out for hitt ing the ball with the wrong

side of the bat. It never occ urr ed to anyof  us to qrrestion the dec is ion —w e too k it

as much for grante d as the leg- befor e-

wicket ru le . Som e twen t y o r th ir ty years

ag o it was by no means so easy to readily

distinguish which was the right and wh ich

was the w ron g side of the b at after i t h ad

seen a season's hard usage. The bats were

made without the modern day bulge behind

which gives it the appea rance of an Indi an

c l u b . There is no dou bt tha t the art of 

m a k in g bats has conside rab ly improved .

N o t many of m y readers will be able to

set do wn at onc e on paper the specifi

ca t ions relating t o tha t ind ispensab le

w e a p o n .

If  yo u ask a lmos t anyo ne how many

m o d e s of dismissing a batsman there ar eof f  a " n o ba l l , " a lmost inva r iab ly the

answer will be one, namely that of being

" r u n o u t . " Ju s t try it on som e of your

cricketing friends and judge for yourselves

if  wha t I say is not som en here near the mark.

A s a matter of fact, there are in all four ways.

Th e bat sman may be given out for " ob

structing the field," "h i t t i ng the ba l l twi ce , "

"han d l i ng the ba l l , " and o f course " r un

o u t . "

S o m e few years ag o a cont rov ers y arose

o v e r this quest ion of the " running out "

of  a batsm an off a " no ba ll ." One of our

leading um pires— an old profess ional

cricketer who had offic iated in more than

o n e Interna t ional M a t c h — o p e n l y sta ted

his inten tion of givi ng a batsm an ou t,

whether the ball was struck or not, if the

b a t sm a n running up the pi tch to hit the

ball should miss it and be stumped.

What his defence was for the at t i tude he

t o o k   up I cannot quite remember, but

a c c o r d i n g to the read ing of the law s he had

not a leg to stand on. The rule gover ning

the case states : " Th e striker may not be

given ou t unless the ball has tou ched the

bat or hand when in play ing at a ' n o bal l '

he is out of his ground, and the wicket be

put d ow n by the wick et-k eeper with the

ball or with hand or arm w ith ball in han d."

A n umpire 's decision is, of course, final,

and it can not be mad e the subject of ope n

disc ussi on on the field. Bu t I am inclined

to think  that a player would be entirely

within his rights, when he feels certain that

a decis ion has been given not accor ding to

the rul ing o f th e law, in draw iirg the ump ire' s

attention to the letter of the code . An d

when it is clear that a mistake has been

mad e thereby the opp osin g captain should

n o t hesitate to set matters right. The

umpi re ma y and fr equently does make

mistakes in such ma tt os as " Ibw. " but

obvious ly there wo ul d be no cause for protest.

His jud gme nt of the case may be at fault,

but of his reading of the laws conce rning

th e offence no ob jec t ion could be taken.

W e cann ot a ll be Cricket lawyers, but

we can at least take a little trouble towards

r e m o v i n g the reproach of ignorance. The

maj ori ty of the laws arc easily understand

abl e and need b ut an hour or two' s perusal

in one's spare time to give one a better

unde rst andi ng of the game , if it is worth

whi le to indulge in the pleasures of Cricket

it is also worth w hile to learn of the penalties.

C R I C K E T L A W C O M P E T I T I O N .

In c onne ctio n with the a bo ve article, Mr. Gi lbert Jessop has prepared a set of  Beven

questions on Cricket Law, as follows, and he offers a Cricket Bat as a prize for the best-

paper thereon that is sent in by a reader of the " B. O. P. " Mr. Jessop w rit es: —

" Th e Bat whic h I purpos e awar ding is mad e by the Manufacturer who makes my

ow n bats to my instruct ions. Wh at eve r the ag e of the winner, a bat shall be sent that

is suitable ."

The closing? date for this Competi t ion is SATURDAY, AUGUST 30,1913.

Competitors are requested to clearly state their nam es, addresses, and ages on their answers

to this examination paper, and to mark the envelope " Cricket Law Competition."

Q U E S T I O N S .

1. State the me thod o r me thods b y which a match may be lost.

2 . Wh at is the length of the po ppi ng crease ?

3. Is there any penalty attaching to a bow ler deli veri ng the ball

with bot h feet behind the crease ?

4. Ho w man y t imes is a bowl er a ll owed to cha nge ends ?

5. M a y a bats man at the bowl er' s end stand on whichever side

of  the w ick et he prefers ?

6. Can a bats man be dismiss ed off a " wide ba ll " ?

7. A wicke t-kee per, with ball in hand, in at tempt ing to s tump a

bats man misses the wick et with his hand, but in swing ng round r emov es

the bails with the elbow —w hil st the batsm an is out of his groun d.

What dec is ion w ould you give ?

S u m m e r Joys.

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627

A St01-57 o f  T h r e e C h u m s and aS 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.

FOR a few seconds Morris sat mo tio n

less. He had not the slightes t i nkl ing

of  what would happen next, and was prepare d

fo r any experience, however s t range an d

unthinkable. The darkness, how eve r, be

came oppressive and the desire to tear off 

hi s cowl and call out for a light was almostt o o strong for him. Inde ed, his hands ha d

begun to m o v e toward s his head, perhap s

automatic ally, when he felt a light tou ch

upon his shoulder.

" Stuffy, eh ? " said the Wi za rd ,

with a chuckle. " Ab ou t as muc h as yo u

ca n stand, and almost a l i t t le bit ov er ?

The feeling will pass, my b o y ; do n' t

g ive up. I know the sens ation . It see ms as

though the whole world had slipped away.

Y es , yea ! I had to go thr oug h i t alo ne,

and it was a bit eerie ! Bu t it pai d, b oy ;

it paid ! "

The touch of the master ' s hand upon his

shoulder had tightened the b o y ' s nerves.

He had not realised till now how terrible

was the impenetrable darknes s.

" It is a trifle choky , sir," he said, and in

spite of himself his v o i c e sounded with a

weakne ss of which he felt ash ame d. " H o w

ever, I 'm going to hang on. Wh at 's the

next part of the pr ogra mme ? "

" A little exercise of the virtue of p ati enc e,"

was the answer : " and do n' t be afraid

there is going to be any real choking . The

cellar is well ventila ted, for all its dark nes s.

L o o k  at the screen now and again , and tell me

when you see anyth ing."

" I 'll tell you right enou gh, " l aughe d

Morris. He was getti ng himse lf well in

hand again . " But how I'rrr to look   at

the screen puzzles poor mc. It 's like being

in a dark  room, and trying to catch a black 

ca t that isn 't there ! "

" G o o d ! " came the cheery respo nse." A light way of  taking thin gs will hel p us

wonderfully. Don't s t ra in ; just look   in

front of you every now and again . Y o u ' l l

get a glimpse in t ime ."

" Wh at of ? "

" Of what, you ungrarrrrnatieal vouth !

A h , w e l l ; wait ! W e shall see wha t we

shall see ! Ther e is no tricke ry ; no wit ch

craft ; n o tom foo ler y of any kin d, my lad ; *'

—the v o i c e had b e c o m e serious agai n—" yo u

are about to share in sorrrc of the fruits of 

years of hea vy thinkin g and workin g, to

night, Morris ! "

" I t 's awful ly g o o d of yo u, sir, and a real

honou r for me," said the b oy earnest ly.Mr . Bran t nodded to himself in the d ark .

It ha d been some thi ng of a sacrifi ce at first

to take even one person irrto his conf idence ,

before his plan s were per fec ted ; bu t he felt

already tha t his unselfishnes s wa s bei ng re

paid in the unfeigned in teres t of his visitor.

" W e l l , w e l l , " he said , " I mus tn ' t play

t o o much on the myste ry, and g i v e y o u

noth ing definite for yo ur mental dig estio n,

must I ? I may as well let yo u kn ow at

once that , al though I have several l i t t le

hobbies—ki nd of off-shoots and by-pat hs

of  recreation "

" Cru mbs ! " ' ejacu lated Morri s. " One

of  those you cal l ' o f f - s h o o t s ' would about

fill the w hole spare time of most of us, sir."

" But ," cont inu ed the other , " my

chief   study has always been the myst ery

and possibilities of light. And that 's th e

reason why we're in the dark  now ! "

His hearer laughed at this paradoxica l

twist . In spite of the burden of black ness

he was enjoy ing himself thoro ughl y.

" Y o u mu st be ar in min d, first, that , so

far as we kn ow , noth ing is abso lutel y trans-

p aren t : ev en the clearest glass abso rbs

its own share of the light that tries to slip

th rough—thus tak ing a sort of toll for ri ght

of  way . An d as I though t upon this I

began to wonder whether the converse

might not also be t rue , tha t nothing is

absolu te ly opaque ."

Morris drew a long breath . B y s low and

dim degrees he began to see men tall y what

the Wizar d was driv ing at."Nothing absolu te ly opaque ," repea ted

th e master , as if to himself; " t h a t just as

mental or spiri tual l ight may penet rate

everywhere, given eyes to know it, so may

physical lisrht perme ate all spac e and all

mat te r , and it is only that our eyes are d m —

it may be, mere fully di m. t-'o I beg an to ex

perim ent. Are you r eyes on the screen, bo y ?"

C H A P T E R X V . — U N D E R TH E EDGE.

" Ye s, sir. At least, 1 supp ose the y are ! "

" A h , wel l . A case of prac tice ; and som e

considerable element of chance, too, un

fortunately. Th e t ime's al l r ig ht ; but the

weath er ma} ' no t be. W e shall see. Y e - e s .

Y es ! I begin to discern s ome thin g ! "

" / don't ," said Morris ." W e ' l l sit a l i t t le longer . I t 's comin g !

Y o u see, if noth ing is abso lute ly op aq ue ,

there must be som e kind of light getti ng

through eve rywher e and everything. I

got that idea twisting and turning in my

hea d, till 1 felt 1 must look   round for c o n

firmation. Cert ainl y the ey e una ide d wo ul d

not be enou gh. The animals tha t l o v e th e

dark   hours are differently equipped for

vision in the dark   than are we. All eye s

are not alike ; the ea gle's teles copic glanc e

far outdoes our own more l imited gaze.

It is even possible tha t the woodpecker

sees some thin g of the insect behind the bark 

before he pecks. A t all eve nts som e have

tho ugh t so , of wh om 1 am on e. So I pon

dered and p onder ed, till at last my bov, at

l a s t — "

" I see somet hing out of the blacknes s ! "

cr ied Morris exc ite dly . " But I can 't tell

what it is. It 's only a faint splas h."

" D o n ' t strain ! Let your eyes gradual ly

g r o w more used to things. Whe n yo u' ve

had a l i t t le longer we'll proc eed to the nex t

step. As I was saying , at last I bel ieve

I am beginning to near- th e g o a l . I have

solved th e init ial difficulties, and no w,

b o y , I can see unde r the edg e of the ver y

earth itself ! "

" I unders tand f " cried the bo y. " Yo u

mean you can l o o k   right into the grou nd,

and "

" Not qui te that , as ye t ; b ut at the sam e

time more than that . I can look   through

it. I can pi ck  areas to sight on the veryant ipo des . Wh at 1 have so often said, I

r epea t : there seems no limit to the possibili

ties of discovery irr this wonderful world."

" I t 's marvel lou s: i t 's almost bey ond

believin g ! " said Morris . His wor ds cam e

s lowly and in gasps : his brain seem ed on

fire.

" Ye s, " answered the W izar d, " i t is

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628 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.

marvel lous. Bu t so, if we wo uld onl y

stop to th ink, i s eve ry th i ng . Every th ing !

Either a ll is marve llou s, or nothing is : but

we are struck onl y by the unusual. W e acce pt,

fo r insta nce, the daily won der of the light

aro und us as quit e a thing of cou rs e."

He was interrupted by ano the r exc lam a

tion from Morris.

" I t ' s ge t t ing more p ronoun ced , s i r ;

though I can ' t make anything special outof  i t y e t . "

" Small wo nd er ! W e must learn to

hasten with dignified slowness. I par

t icularly don' t want you to strain your eyes .

I'll finish my little lecture before the con

sum mati on. I have at last been enabled

to bring into vi sio n som e of the ligh t we

miss . "

T h e unique situation in whic h he foun d

himself, and the start l ing statements he

had just heard, had set Morris thinking.

T h e last few sentences fell upon deaf ears.

He broke in upon the speaker's discours e.

" I t ' s past belief, a lm ost ! " he burst

out . " It beats all I ever c ou l d have

dream t. Do yo u mean to say, sir, really,

that yo u can see right t hroug h the earth ? "Mr . Bran t chuck led .

" That ls wha t I mean to say . Or, to

put it in a slightly different way, I can get

a picture of what is on the other side."

" Y o u — y o u aren't making game of me ? "

" I ! " Mr. Brant laughed al oud in the

darkness. " No t I, Morris. I ' m in dead

earnest. I can pssure you."

" Bu t— I don' t want to seem an un

believing Jew , 1 really don ' t , sir !—but—— "

" Bu t if onl y the rays we ca n' t see go

through the earth, how am I going to show

y o u the m, eh ? "

" Tha t was somethi ng of my idea, sir;

t h o u g h " —e x c i t e d ly — " I a d m i t there

is so me kind of light comi ng on to the

sc reen ."

" Of course there is. That

screen has n o rival in the

wide world , bo y. It has taken

m e years of  hard thought, and

count le ss exper iments ,

before I was abl e to

p r o d u c e a c o m p o u n d

which sliould arrest th e

w a v e s I felt sure wer e in

exis tence , and transform

them so that m y eye

might kno w them . But

a t last I succeed ed ;

and the next step was

to find a magnify ing

medi um. This was even

m o r e baffling: I was

well - nigh in desp air,unt i l at length, just as

I felt I should have to

confess defeat, I st ruck 

the r igh t com poun d . I

do n' t kn ow when I fe lt

so id io t ica l ly e la ted ."

" Id io t ica l ly ! " ex

c la imed M o rri s . " W h y !

Y o u ' d eve ry right t o be

elated . I rec kon / 

should have gon e clean

off  my head ov er a splen

did success like tha t . "

A sudden thought

struck him.

" W a s that when you

—when you told usa b o u t that accident in

America , sir ? "

" T h a t w a s i t , "

answered Mr. Brant.

" I onl y got a hazy

p ic tu re , ce r t a in ly ; bu t

it seemed enou gh to go

on, and, as things

turned out , I was correc t . Remember ,

first I go t the r ay, lik e a spl ash , as y o u see

it ; i t was wort h practical ly nothi ng until

m y te lescop ic magnifier enlarged the im

pression, and even then I had to use a

second magnifier, which not o nly enlarges

the picture further, but also reverses it.

Bear in mind that what you see now is an

image of some sort, upside d o w n , and, of 

course, of far too small dimensions for youto make head or tail of it as it st ands ."

" I see it all no w ! " cried Morris . " Tha t

was how yo u mana ged t o tell us about the

inside of the old Pretty Poll! "

" Quite ri ght ! B ut , for little j obs of 

that nature, I am in hopes of being able to

i m p r o v e my chances . I am no w trying

to adapt my principle to what I propose

to call a ' Diascope , ' that is, a small hand

apparatus something of the nature of  a

field glass in appearance, but with powers

not vouchsafed to the ordinary field glass, as

y o u ma y well understan d ! Bu t I mustn ' t

tire your patience out. Pret ty warm under

that hood , e h ? "

" Pret ty wel l , " was the rep ly ; " but I

c ou l d stand a jol ly lo t worse than that forwhat I 'm hearing and learning to-night."

" Tha t ' s the w a y ! " c r ied the maste r .

" I like to hear enthusiastic speeches like

that ! I am goin g to let yo u l ook  at the

p ic tu re p roper , ve ry shor t ly . Yo u no t iced ,

of  course , that I consulted my map and

then adjusted my telescope to take th e

part of the world at w hich I prop ose d yo u

shou ld l ook. I have a group of figures also

on the m ap, whi ch I com pd ed after much

tho ugh t, to enabl e me to gauge not only

the right direction of the instrument, bu t

also the correct focal length for the place

under observ ati on. Th e other small magni

fier on the tabl e, throu gh wh ich yo u will look,

must , of cours e, be adjus ted by yourself 

to yo ur indi vidu al need . To avoid all dis

trac tion of other light so far as practicable,I have had the black colour ing for every

thing, including hood an d gloves , and I

have eve n placed a tempo rar y black chimney

over the gla ss one on the l am p, whilst we

s tood here in the dark. No w, Morris ! "

T h e last words were uttered in a tone

of  suppr essed exci tem ent . In the blackness

the master leaned over and guided the

boy ' s eager hand to the instrument .on the

table .

" St oop , and plac e yo ur eye here," he

said ; and the la d bent hi s head as the

mast er gui ded him by the sense of touch.

W i t h nerves stretched tight, and heart

beati ng fast in his excite men t, he stooped

to feel his wa y to the ey e-pi ece of the small

magnifier, and l ooked throu gh it. Mr. Branthad guided his hand to the adjusting screw.

" Make your own focus ," he said. , " Can

you see, eh ? "

" I t ' s a l l b lu rred ,—I can ' t—yes, I c a n -

yes—sure ly—ah, that ' s clearer—no, it's gone

again—,—"

" It will c o m e in good tim e, my lad. The

eye mus t get used to the peculiar conditions.

R e m e m b e r , to some extent

y o u are seeing som e objects

behind others. That

is the effect of the

permeating

ray upon

things in

open day-

.. . . . .

" T h e figure . . . had come into full view, and was

standing looking over th e desolate scene." See p. 629.)

l ight, and until it has entered the dark  bos om

of  th e earth. Yo u will have to look  a little

w h i l e ; but don ' t strain. The right impres

sion will c om e in tim e. Th e blind m an

cured saw men as trees walking, but only at

first; with a cont inua tio n of the cure he s awaright. A ny better now ? "

Morr is gave anothe r slight twist to the adjust

ing sc rew.

" W h a t d o y o u s e e ? " asked Mr . Brant again.

He seemed quite as eager as his pupil.

" Looks like all sorts of  things mixed up, sir."

" Yes ! Yes ! Try and r e m e m b e r that y o u must

consider each object to some slight extent as a

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Under the Edge of the Earth. 629

window for others behind i t . Piece you r

puzzle careful ly, b o y : piece you r pu zzle.

I t ' l l work out properly s o o n , with

  judgment ."

Act ing on tho hin t , Morris cont in ued t o

gaze through tho eye-piece. He s o o n found

the correct foca l adjustment , and, al lowing

the m agnifier to remain at the posi tio n

required , he dev ote d all his though t to the

picture beforo him . There was a br eathless

interval ; then a sharp exc lamat ion .

" I have i t ! I have i t ! I t 's too wonder

ful for words ! "

" Wh at d o yo u see ? " aske d Mr . Bran t .

Tho answer was muc h to him : mo re than

Morris realised. Ho had, of set purp ose,

kept tho bo y ignor ant as to what part of 

the world was under v i e w . He wanted a

perfectly unbiased acc oun t of tho scene

as Morris actually saw it ; not a descri ptio n

temp ered b y possible prev ious ideas as to

what he was expected to see.

" There 's a mass of someth ing round and

hummocky . Oh, any amo unt of it ! An d

it l o o k s like bits of bushes, or som ethi ng of 

tha t sort, growing out of it ever y here a nd

there. There isn 't any c o l o u r , t h o u g h . "" No , the pictures are achro mati c. But

go o n ! "

" And it looks like a deep di p ; ah, that

must be a valley. And , oh, there 's a great

bird just lighted near a bush, and there 's

something—I can't qui te make out what—

that i t 's pecking."

" Gran d ! " cr ied the W iz ar d. " Gra nd !

You ' r e picking up the t h r ead s splendidly ! "

" Bu t w here is it ? Sou th A f r i c a , sir,

or th e Sahara ? "

" No ! N o ! " c r i e d M r . B r a n t . Hi s

excitement was no whit less than his visi tor 's .

" You 're looki ng, by my calculat ion, up on

part of the G reat Shingle Desert of Patago nia.

Y o u ' v e pieced the picture wonderful ly in

a "

H o was in ter rup ted by a cry from Morris.

" Oh ! Th ere 's a figure ! A sava ge , I

suppose. My word , th is is grand ! No ,

it 's not a savage—it i sn ' t tha t kind—it ' s

comi ng up the edg e of tho dip —it' s gett ing

nearer . Have a l o o k , sir ! "

" N o ! No ! Go on , my lad ! I 'll l o o k  

l a t e r . "

F o r a sec ond or tw o there was sileneo

again ; t h en another cry from tho watcher ,

sharper this t ime, and almost s t r ik ing a note

of  fear .

" Oh ! It 's a yo un g chap , in som ethi ng

of  our own rig-out, by the l o o k   of him , as

far as I can make it out. He 's go t to t he

to p no w, and the bird' s cleared off. Hel lo !

L o o k   this way ! L o o k   th is way ! "In the wildness of his exc ite men t he

found himself calling to the figure so ma ny

thou sand s of miles awa y, as tho ugh forget

ting everything but the scene before his

s tar t led eyes .

" L o o k   this way ! " he called again .

" L o o k — O h ! "

{To be continued.)

He drew back sl ight ly and clutched at

Mr. Bran t , stan ding by his side in the dense

darkness. The latter inst inct ively threw

out his arms lest the excit ed boy shou ld ste p

into the gulf   behind him. The act ion

recalled Morris to his pos itio n. His fingers

t ightened round the master ' s wrist : his

v o i c e seemed half choked.

" You l o o k   ! " h e gas ped .

In amazement B r a n t bent down and

groped his way to the eye-piece, one re

s t rain ing han d still keep ing in tou ch w ith

the bo y at his side. Th e f o c u s of the in

s t ru men t needed but l i t t le adjus tment

fo r him, and ho gaze d upo n the far-aw ay

sight. Th e figure of whic h Morris spoke

ha d c o m e into full v i e w , and was standing

looking ove r the desolate scene upon which

i t had emerged . Sudde nly the hands shot

up, as if in pray er, to the sk ies ; and then

Bran t saw the for m fall forw ard .

" Wh at d o yo u see, sir ? " cried Mo rris .

H is v o i c e sou nde d muffled, a long dista nce

from them both .

" I see ," answe red the other, with an

emot i on he did no t try to suppress, " the

figure of a lad up on the e dg e of tho grea twaste. Surely this is the guiding of Provi

dence, for I am conv inc ed we have both

set ey es on "

" Yes , s i r ," cr ied the b oy , almost beside

himself, and o n the point of collapsing in his

exci te ment . " Ye s, s i r, i t 's Den iua ! I t 's

Denn is ! It 's dear ol d Den nis ! "

 3 3

P I O N E E R D A Y S IN Q U E E N S L A N D .

EO M the time that I

  joined the Black 

P o l i c e of Queens

land I was c o n

s tan t ly journeying

about the country.

On one o c c a s i o n we

had orders to pro

c e e d to a nor thern

part of the coast

line to esc ort a sur

v e y o r who had been

to ld to lay out the

sito of the pres ent

township of   T o w n s -

v i l l e . The only

smat ter ing of  g e o

graphy that I ever

learnt, to be of 

interest to myself,

has been picked up in foreign t ravel an d

b y looking out places men tion ed by travel

lers. In this little acc oun t it will bo well

to point out that Tow nsv illo lies on the

bord er of the Pacific O cea n, a little to the

north of 20° South Lati tude .

The coastal blacks of these regions are a

fine race of wel l-gr own me n. So me that I

saw were six feet high and of  g o o d l y propor

tion s, far superi or in b uild t o their inland

brothers. This is owi ng to the fact that

they ha ve an unlim ited su ppl y of fish f o o d ,

turtle, and dugong. During our t r ip we

crossed five g o o d rivers at intervals, withthei r waterfalls within sight or sound.

The forest trees were frequently b edeck ed

with orchids and stag's-horn ferns, whilst

the beautiful Brassaia actinophylla, k n o wn

to Queenslanders as the " umbrel la tree, "

was conspicuo us on th*e borders of the scrubs

with its dazzling crimson spikes.

By E. B. KENNEDY,

  Author of " The Blade Police of Queensland," etc.

Our fo rce consisted of eight b o y s (nat ives) ,

t wo officers, and a young " rouse-a- bout ,"

which means a white man who will turn

his hand to anything—a nd a mob of fourteen

horses, some to pack, two to draw a light

eart , and the oth ers as spare anima ls in

case any were lost from accid ent or ot herwi se.

The light car t carr ied the surve yor 's

iron rods, t o o l s , and all sorts of " man avl ins "

in connection with his t r ad e . This word is

a most useful and com pre hen siv e one . Fo r

instance, yo u have your gu n; but have

y o u all the gear connected with it—" the

ma na vl in s" ? I t appl ies to ahnost every

thi ng—a boa t, fishing rod , an d in thes e da ys

camer as, etc., etc. -

W e s tarted from the D on river, a s t ream

near Por t Denis on, the ban ks of whic h were

then the resort of  f locks of beautiful white

egrets. Hol din g for the coast as mu ch as

possible, crossing the mout hs of the Bur dek in

river and round ing the slopes of Moun t

Elliott, we at length wore round nor th-east fo r

Cleveland Ba y, where T ow nsville now s tands.

This latter part of our t r ip was the hardest .

S o far our camps had been comforta ble

and w e had fed luxurious ly, chiefly upo n

wild fo w l and 'pl ain turkeys, which is our

name for a groat bustard weighing many

pound s. No w, in the ranges, we had to

cut our way thro ugh masses of dense scrub

and ma ke an extra wi de track for the car t .

This carried extra tuck er, bu t we did no t

bless it any m or e for that . A successionof  thunders torms set in which hurt nothing

excep t the contents of   this cart , as the tilt

cover ing s o o n b e c a me ro t ten and was

stripp ed off by the lawy er canes and other

creepers bearing the sam e sort of vici ous

spikes.

W e also had some l i t t le exci tement to

keep us g o i n g . Fresh t racks every now and

then den ote d the pres ence of blacks in the

ne i ghbour hood and we found that a small

m o b of bucks was f o l l o w i n g our t racks—no

gins with them ; an d signal smo kes sho wed

up in the ranges. Bu t be yo nd keepi ng a

sharp look- out , special ly at d ayl ight , these

facts did not trou ble us. To war ds the

end of our over land ing the car t was much

smash ed up and was only held to gether

b y strips of green hi de ; the provisions

in it were soak ed, and w e were thankfu l

when a boy shot a wild two -ye ar- old c o l t .

This afforded ns some g o o d meat, but we

c o u l d only carry a small quant i ty a wa y

with us as we had no salt . At length,af ter

gettin g over the last of the inter minab le

ridges intersec ted w ith low- lyin g mya ll and

othe r scrubs, we were mu ch heartened by

a v i e w of the ocean in the near distance.

Magnetic Island, so christen ed by the great

naviga tor C o o k , lay off the s hore , and a

great san dy bay at our feet.

Th e day wa s glor ious, a blazing sun and

no wind . We cam ped before descending

to the sho re und er the sh ade of the finest

Leichard t tree we ha d so far seen. Thi s

was a magnificent, erect, shad y tree, with

dark   green broad laurel-like deciduous

fo l i age .

Whilst resting and admiring the v i e w

a cou ple of our b o y s stalked and shot two

scrub turkeys. I may mentio n, o n c e for all,

that we neve r killed game unnecess arily—merely sufficient for the cam p pot . The

wild fo w l abounding on every lagoon were

absolutely ta me ; they were in thousands

during tho se early days , and our plan was

to send dow n a bo y, proba bly at dayl ight ,

to the lago on on which we were enca mp ed,

wh en he wo ul d get a sm all lo t of wild low 1

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630 The "Boy's Otan Paper.

away from the bigger flocks, crawl c lose u p,

g i v e a whistle, and when they c l o s e d up and

threw up their heads he would b l o w th e

latter off: if   any th ing was wounded, he

would div e in and invari ably retriev e the

bird. Th e iest of the fow l would simply

paddl e aw ay and were not molest ed aga in.

Having descended to the southern end

of  the bay we crossed a t idal creek and,

work ing along the sa ndy shore, fou nd a

fresh-water lagoon ab ov e high-wate r mark  

ab out a mile aw ay to the north, and there

we formed our camp away from scrubs, and

with a clear look-ou t all roun d. N o soone r

had we lit a lire to tr y an d dr y things than

more signal smokes sprang up amongst

the ranges, likewise from several points

on Magnetic Island. Unpac king the wreck 

of  ou r little dra y was a woeful business.

Sugar, flour, salt, had all fused toget her

into a s lop py mess, full of chips and dirt ,

and had to be thr own away . Som e lump s

of  flour whi ch st uck t o the bag we tu rned

into John ny cakes , and mad e out for the

day with a remnant of  salt beef  and some

turtle eggs which the b o y s brought in.

Nex t mor ning we dispersed for provis ions.

There were doubtless fish of  sorts in the

lagoon, and wild f o w l abounded. I had

f ixed my eye on the sal t -water creek and I

walked back  there , provided with lines,

hooks , and some " i n n a r d s " from a duck.

It was a blazi ng hot a nd still day, and a

comfor table rig co ns is te d of a flannel shirt

and a cabb age- tree hat. It was a pleasant

walk along the hard sand of the sea-shore—

not a stone nor a shell to be seen , with the

little wavelets to c o o l one' s feet if requi red.

A narr ow but high bank of sand had been

cast up by t ida l influence, between me

and the waters of the cree k. Crawling

up this and spyin g carefully ove r, I cou ld

see the opp osi te ban k fringed with man

groves and the water immediately b e l o w

me. Many mullet and other sea fish were

coming up with the flood t ide.

It was a peace ful sce ne. No t a leaf 

mo v e d , nor even a bir d; for these remain

silent amon gst the foliage during the

hot te s t part of the d a} 7 . Casting out

m y lines I cou ld see the mul let passing

along in an endless s tream and taking no

notice of the baits , whi ch one knew wou ld

be the case ; bu t very so on bre am, flatheads,

and whiting began to bite ravenous ly.

A s fast as I land ed a fish 1 thre w it beh ind

the sandbank, where it was safe.

A shark  about three feet long I got in to

the bank  after a long struggle, when he bro ke

the hook and went. At length I hoo ke d

a baby shark  abo ut 8 lbs. weigh t. Whils t

killing this I fancied a gentle c o o - e e

see med to be wafte d from the man grov es ;

s o , t i l t ing my hat over my eyes, I exa mined

th e farther shore, whilst prete nding to

bo occ upi ed with the fish. Sudd enl y my

ey e wa s arres ted by seeing some big ripples

float away under the farther shore from

a calm backwater as though a fish hads truck—in fact, as a pike at ho me will

dart out of his shallo w noo k. This was

enoug h ; but, wishing to appear as thou gh

nothi ng had disturb ed me, 1 threw a large

li at hea d—o ne of the bes t of fishes—over

the bank and leisurely f o l l o w e d it , nurs ing

and examining my shark.

Dir ec tly I was out of sight of the rive r,

one glance showed me that there wa s

plenty of  hard sand left before the tide

covered i t ; another pointed out the dimin

ished smoke of our camp fire, and I star ted

with the most determined resolve to "li ck 

the other f e l l o w " and win the prize of 

m y l ife .(To be continued.)

In my s c h o o l b o y days I could sprint fairly

wel l , but was nev er a succe ss as winne r

of  any th ing to be prou d of. At the period

of  whi ch I am writing, my age was abou t

twe nty- two ; I w as toughly mad e, and my

si x feet gave me a g o o d stride. I remember,

after the first fe w yar ds, a tho ugh t cross ed

m y mi nd —" Is it not best to start a bit

ste ady ? " At the same mo me nt I heard

on e black calling to another. I thought

no more , but hit out all I cou ld. I coul d

then hear the strokes of  their feet on the

hard sand. After an interval it seemed that

th e nearest buc k suddenl y stopped.

Kn o wi n g what he was after I put on extra

spurt and was thankful nothing hit me.

M y eyes were fixed on camp and lagoon,

and for some reason I tore off my shirt and

yell ed—t he only sound I could mak e.

I had already dropped my shark. Seeing

no signs of help I thought the ca mp wa s

deser ted ; ano the r second, to my intense

  j oy , I saw two naked blacks with not hing

in their hands, appea r suddenly from the

reeds of the lake and rush towards me as

if  to cut me off. Thou ghts whirl quickly

through the brain on such an occasion and

I knew that they were two of the b o y s .

Th e y slackened speed as they passed me

with "Clo se up , Marmy ! " ( " A near g o ,

M a s t e r ! " )

Meantime my pursuers (w ho at first ha d

doubtless thought that th e b o y s were a

couple of wild blacks coming to join in

the fun) suddenly discovered their mistake,

g ot into a bunch and hes i t a ted ; whilst

th e b o y s quickly dropped on their knees,

and, producing their carbines from under

their armpits (these being hidden as only

a native of Austral ia can dispose of his

weapons) , sent a coup le of balls into the

black   bunch.

A S O L D I E R O F T H E L E G I O N .

Atque nostris cunetant ibus, qui deoimie legionis aquilara gerebat, " Desilite," inquit , " milites nisi rult is aqui lam hostibus prodere."

(Caesar, Qallic War, iv. 25.)

0K \ K the shore the savage Britons formed their ranks

in fierce array,

In their galleys lay the Romans, moored at anchor in

the bay ;

Whilst in front the white-robed Druids to the heavens

raised their hands,

And the foemen mocked and cursed them from their

station on the sands.

Then great Cit'sar gave t't e signal, and from ship to

ship went round

The command to charge the foemen, when the trumpets

loud should sound.

But the water stood between them, and the water

it was deep,An d their armour it was heavy, and 'twas hard their

ranks to keep.

As they looked into the water each man waited for

a friend,

For no soldier knew the shallows and each feared

his life to end

In that gloomy silent water, with the foe upon the

shore;

And as they stood thus, doubting, came the trumpet

call once more.

Then out spake a gallant soldier of the legion numbered

Ten,

In his hand he held the standard and he looked upon

his men;

" Now, by the Gods Immortal, let us keep our sacred

oath,

And be faithful to our general, for to him we pledged

our troth.

Now, never to the foemen shall our eagle be betrayed 1 "

As he spake once more the trumpets loud and long

their harsh note brayed,

" I for one will do my du ty to my leader and to

Home ;Now follow me and fear not, if ye wish to see your

home 1 '*

Then he cast one glance around him and with standard

raised on high

Leapt down into the water, where the darts began

to fly;

And alone aga inst the foemen throug h the shallows

lie drew near,

Whilst loud and ever louder blared the trumpets

in the rear.

Now no more are they unheeded, for with courage

roused from sleep,

With one accord from off their ships the legionaries leap.

But where the darts flew thickest pressed that hero

to the shore,

Nor ever once looked backward, but, three good

spears' length and more

In front of all the others, made his way towards the

land,

Until he reached the utmost wave that lapped the

thirsty sand.

And there it was they found him, with the standard

lying near,

Upon his lips the smile of one who knows not how

to fear.

They buried him with honour on the shore whereon

he fell

And o'er his grave the trumpets sang a soidier'g

last farewell.

But though his bones are turned to dust, and no man

knows his name, *

No passing age can rob him of his glory and his fame.

W. J. HAWKEd.

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631

T h r o u g h A f g h a nS n o w s ;

O r , Lar i K h a n of the Diamond S t a r .

By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,

 Author of  " Sinclair of  Hie Scouts," " Jeffrey of  the White Wolf  Trail," etc 4

C HA PTER X X I I . — A TR Y IN O TIME IN AN A F E E E D E E PRISON.

•TIT H I S

1 is a

l i v e l y

l o o k o u t ,

Amr a n , "

sa idBob,

two days

after this, as he

rubbe d his sole limbs,

and tried to get some

case for the cha fed

skin beneath the

hea vy irons which

shackled him to the

wal l ; " bread and

water, dirt and chains ma ke life rather

dreary and uncom fortable. Ho w is it with

y o u , Talib ? "

" B a d , bad, my lord, " groaned Tal ib.

"'I shall never fo rg ive myself for falling

asleep when I ought to have been on guard.

Amran swears that he awa ked me, and I

suppose that he did so, but I h av e no

remembrance of it."

" I am sure I thought that I aroused

y o u , " said Amran , " but I was too wearie d

to be sure of any thi ng. Bu t it is no use

crying over what is past . It is eas y to

blame—still, I am more anxious to know

h o w we are going to get out of  this h o l e . "They were in a small r o o m at the top of a

high stone tower, built upon a ridge of rock,

arid commanding an unin ter rup ted v i e w

•of  a wide stretch of count ry. I t was

situated about fifty yard s from a rough-

built Afreedeo mountain fortress. The

windows were mere slits in the wall, and

the dungeon was in a most filthy condition.

B o b felt sick as he lookod round, for the

atmosphere, despite the strong wind blowing

thr oug h the slits, was ho avy and fou l . The

th ree were chained with hea vy leg-iron s

t o the walls, and an iron ban d wen t ro un d

the waist and fastened them securely .

T h e y were clad in rough, ta t tered garments

a n d B o b ' s stars had disappeared.

" They would have cut our throats

witho ut any dela y," said B o b, " if m y

•diamonds had not given them the idea that

w e were people of importance, and that

it was necess ary to bring us before t he

chief . Yo u are a Khyberee, Amra n, and

ou gh t to kno w the tribe of the scound rels

who captured us. W o r e they Afreedees or

Mohmunds ? "

" A f r e e d e e s , "

growled Amr a n ,

thieves and

murderers of  A f z u l

A l i ' s tribe. If we

hav e fallen into

his hands, the end

will s o o n be here,

Lari Kha n. He

has doubtless

heard all about

y o u , and will be

gl ad to finish the

work  ho began

many years ago.H e h a s t h y

mother ' s b l o o d

upon him, and

thy father's . He

will be del ighted

to finish the feud with the life of  their son.

A llU i forbid that we ha ve fallen into his

hands! "

" Don't make i t worse than it is, Amran.

Th o chances are that it is some smaller

tribe of the Afreede es whic h has cap ture d

us, and a promis e of a rich reward from

A b d u l of Ghari Ghilz ai will pro bab ly bri ng

about our release."

A week passed, and on e even ing t he

sound of cheerin g came from the Afreedce

village, and presently a large number of 

men came up the mount ain roa d, an d

entered the fortress. Fr om the sounds

which arose la ter it was evident that a

feast had been prepared to w e l c o m e th e

newcomers .

A b o u t midnight heavy footsteps were

heard out side the dungeo n, and when the

d o o r was flung open the prisoners saw

the light of several torches. A num ber of 

men came in, and a rough v o i c e bade them

awake and lift up thei r faces.

A keen-faced man, with restless black 

eyes, stepped forward and, catching each

prisoner b y the chi n in turn, calmly scrut i

nised his features. He bent the longe st

gaze upon Amran, who bl inked foo l i s h ly and

began to sneeze.

"N o , " said the man, " I do not kn ow

th em . I th ou gh t at first tha t I had seen

this d o g s o me wh e r e " — h o p o i n t e d t o

Am ra n— " but I canno t recall when or

where. Th ey must stay until the chief  

returns and t h en we can deci de what to do

wdth them."

W h e n th e d o o r was c los ed Amr a n

whisper ed to his co mra des , " By Allah ! we

are lost. W e are in the h an d s of  A f z u l

A l i . Did yo u not recognise Merkab, my

lord ? M y heart nearly sto pped when ho

caug ht me by the chin, and if I had no t

pret ende d to sneeze the villain wou ld

hav e recognise d me by the light of the

tor ch. He suspec ts us, and if he has you r

star in his possession he knows who we are

and is onl y play ing with u s."

" I recognised him the mome nt he entered, "

said B o b . " I had a g o o d l o o k   at him

in the court yar d at Ghari Ghilzai , alth ough

he did not see me. He only saw yo u in the

confusion of the fight, Amra n, and in the

blaze of the burnin g stable, and therefore

the chanc es are that he has not recognised

y o u . If he has the star, there will be no

doubt about the mat te r , but I expect tha t

the men who captu red us to ok  g o o d care

to hide the jewel s before they brou ght us

in. A t any rate, he may discover who

w e are at any mom ent , and then we shall

be as g o o d as dead."

" As bad, yo u mean, my lord, " said

Tal ib , with a feeble a t t e m p t a t humour .

" When Merkab discovers that we are the

men who wounded him at Ghari , and

spoiled his plot against my lord Abdul,

and den ounce s us to A fzul Ali , d ea th by

the most horrible to r tu res will be our lot.

T h e y are merciless tigers when they ha ve

o n c e t a s t ed b l o o d , and kno w no pi ty. "S l o w l y the hot da ys passed with out

bringin g any chan ge in the cond iti on of 

the capt ives . Bre ad and water was brou ght

in o n c e a day by a surly-looking Afreedee,

and flung up on the floor, but in spite of 

every a t t e m p t ma de to concil iate him, h e

never excha nge d wor ds with his prisoners.

The heavy shackles caused painful sores,

and the fou l atmosphere, as winter came

o n , brou ght abo ut severe chills and c o l d s .

Tali b was driv en nearly frantic with an

achi ng too th, and spent man y an hour in

agony . They tried in every way to get

the staples, w hich held the chains, out of 

the wall, but the y had been dri ven in with

a strong hand, and the prisoners c o u l d not

find anything to use as a chisel.

It w as no w intensely c o l d ; snow lay

in hea vy masses all ov er the mou ntai ns

and the wind was as sh arp as a dagger.

Ev er y night seem ed to add to the intensity

of  their sufferings, until at length B ob

began to despair . Wra ppe d in a lagged

sheepskin and tormen ted with verm in, the

unfor tunates lay rack ed with pain, hun gry,

and chilled to the bone, almost longing

fo r the sum mo ns to go forth eve n to torture

an d d ea th .

Wi th the advent of the new year, 1840 ,

there was great exci teme nt amo ng the

Afreedees. Large number s came across the

mou ntai ns to the fortress, and after a da y

or tw o mar che d aw ay tow ards the Western

hills. Th ey were fully arme d, and se eme d

to be on som e very important exped it ion .A b o u t a fortnight la ter the so un d of firing,

shou ting and singing was heard, and the

vi l lage awakened to a new exci te ment . Bo b

c o u l d not disco ver wha t it mean t, b ut it

was clear that som e great cau se for exu lta

tion was agi tat ing the Afreedees.

That night the capt ives were awakened

b y the sound of marc hing feet, and present ly

thei r prison d o o r was flung open, and

Merkab, fo l low ed by a black-bearded chief  

walked into the ce l l . In his hand Merkab

carried a large bag, through which dark  

stains were showing. 'The Chief  wa s a

man of sixt y or ther eabo uts, with hair

and beard dy ed black after the Afgha n

custom . He had evid ent ly been a giant

in s t rength when younge r, and even now

showed no sign of weakne ss. His face was

alm os t terr ifyi ng in its fierceness, cun nin g,

an d bru tal i ty . Ins t inc t ively Bo b cowered

before him. Merk ab walked quickly ove r

to where Amran was lying, and ki cked

him savagely in tho ribs.

" Th ou Ghilzai do g, " he sai d," I remem ber

thee, n ow , and th e fight we had o n tha t

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632 The 'Boy's Otern Taper.

night in thy t own , when I ba re ly e scap ed

with my l ife f ro m the blazi ng s tab le ."

He to ok a shor t Afgha n whip f rom hi s

bel t and s lashed Amr an across the face,

making the b lood f ly.

" Stay thy hand, M e r ka b , " g r ow l e d t he

Chief , " tho u ar t too anx iou s to begi n. He

is only the servant, le t us speak with tho

master . Art thou awake , tho u accur se d

Fe r inghee ? " He touche d Bo b wi th h i s

foot rather rough ly , and dragg ed him to

his fee t. " Le t me look   at thee . Brin g

a t o r c h nearer, M e r k a b , thrust i t before

hi s f a c e . "

H e l ooke d intent ly i n to the whi t e , drawn

face of the lad, but qu ai led wh en he saw

h o w hi s eyes b lazed . B ob had su mmo ned

al l his for t i tude to defy this truculent

brute, and his hands were c l enc hed wi th

despe ra te r age . H e de te rmin ed to taunt

the Chief so as to make him s lay him

of f -hand.

" Cowa rdly hound of an Af ree dee ," he

said, " I kn ow thee not , but i t i s a po or

business to torture he lple s s men. Re lea s e

us , and le t us f ight ou r way throu gh y ou

with our bare h and s."

" Gag him, Merkab," s a id the Chie f  ca re l e s s ly ; " t i e h i s mou th up, whi l e I

s ay wha t I hav e to s ay. " Merk ab wou nd

a c l o t h a r ound B ob ' s face , and gagged him

effectively.

" I wil l tell thee w ho I a m , " c on t i nue d

the Chief . " Men kn ow me as Afzu l Al i ,

Chief  of the Af reedees , and mos t me n

have cause to dread my name . An d I

will tell thee wh o tho u ar t . Th ou ar t an

accur sed Fe r inghee do g, ca l l ed Lari K h a n ,

the son of a ma n I hated, and of a wo man

I shot . Th ou wert the f r iend of Ab du l the

Mul lah, who now gree t s thee with a smile ."

He waved hi s hand t o Merkab, who

swif t ly unt ied the stained bag, and a ghas t ly ,

white head rol led upon the floor. W i t h a

cry of dism ay and so rrow the cap t ive s re

cogni sed th e features of  their f r iend and

chie f t a in , Ab du l the Mul lah .

" See how he smi le s upon thee , Lari

K h a n , " m o c k e d Afzu l Ali . " I ha ve taken

his tow n an d for t ress , ki l led his me n and

carr ied off his wo me n and chi ldren . Ma ny

of  t hem a re no w on their way to be sold

as s laves , and the rest a re s ca t t e r ed throug h

the Afreedee vi l lages . Ghari Ghilzai is

m y tow n, ga r r i soned wi th my t r ibe smen,

be c a us e Shah Shuja h has con ferred the

Jagheer upon me, his fa i thful fo l lower a n d

d e v o t e d soldie r . The fools w ho c a p t u r e d

thee did not te l l Merkab tha t t hey had

robb ed thee , a l thou gh he migh t ha ve

known i t wi thout their te l l ing, but a for t

night ago one of them tried to dispose of  

these d i a m o n d stars " — he he l d B ob ' s stars

in his hand. " Wo rd was b roug ht to

Merkab , and he had the men arrested.

He knew the s tory of   Lari Khan of the

D i a m o n d Star, for my spies in Kabul had

brought the news t ha t D o s t M o h a m m e d

had given the decora t ion to the a dop ted

son of Ab du l the Mullah. Bu t I kn ew th e

star that used to shine in thy father's

turban, and thy f ace comp le te s the h i s tory .

N o w I will finish the ferrd wh ich is bet we en

thy father's house and m e . "

He dre w a pis tol f ro m his bel t , an d

de l ibe ra t e ly c o c k e d i t . A no t he r m om e n t

would hav e seen Bo b lying dead a t his fee t ,

had not Merkab started f o r w a r d .

" Na y, my lord ," he sa id, " I ow e this

man a woun d which c r ippled me for m an y

a day and which I r ece ive d f rom hinr.T h e b l o o d of Ismail cr ies a lso for revenge.

T o shoot the do g wou ld be to end the

matter to o swif t ly. I t is dreary a m o n g

the mounta ins , and there is little t o amuse

us . Re wa rd me by giving me these pr i sone r s

fo r my ow n pleasure . I wil l wring l i fe

f rom them dro p by drop, and make them

cry for death as men cry for weal th , pleasure ,

Pa radi se . And this f e l l o w — " here he

turned t o A mr an —" who kil l ed I sma i l

and spoi led my plot in Ghari Ghilzai , shall

die first."

" Ha ve thy wi l l , Mer kab ," grow led

Afzu l Ali , as he thrust the pis tol ba ck into

his be lt, " it matters not to me how they

g o out of   life. If it will am us e thee t o

torture t hem thou can 's t h ave thy wi l l .

F l ing this ca r r ion in to the corn e r ; A bd ul

the Mulla h had a wise head , i t ma y teac h

the m h ow to e scape f rom thy hand . "

Wh en the door was barred again the three

cap t ive s lay for a t ime in a s tupor of despair .

Afzu l Al i only sp oke the t ru th when he

said tha t he had des t royed Chaz i Ghi l za i .

H o had gathe red his Afreed ees together ' ,

and m ade a junc t ion wi th the t roops of  

Shah Shujah, an d the town had been

a t t ack ed one mornin g be fore daybrea k.

A bdu l w a s taken unawares , and after a

com para t ive l y br ie f s t ruggle had been

compe l l ed to surrender on the promise of  

g o o d terms. 'The instant t hey l a id down

their arms and we re helpless , Afzu l A l i

orde red an at tack  to bo mad e upon the una rmed men. The wo men and chi ldren were

dragged a way , some to s l ave ry in Turkestan

a n d Persia, t he rest to a worse servi t ude

amo ng the Af reedees . Ab du l h imse l f was

behead ed in h i s ow n cour ty a rd and a l l

his possess i ons passed into the cap aci ous

hands of  Afzu l A l i .

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

TH E EARTHQUAKE. FREE ONCE MORE !

HE bruta l i ty of 

th e chief  and

M e r ka b a c t e d

l ike a tonic up on

B o b a nd A m r a n ,

inas muc h as i ta roused them by

the sheer ho rror

of  t he threat of 

torture at the

hands of the

Af reedees . Am

ran and Ta l ib

kne w w ha t tha t

meant , for they

had seen hacked

and disf igured

bodie s flung into

the rou gh road s of the mou ntai ns .

On the 19th of Feb rua ry a s torm of  rain

brok e ove r the v i l l age , fo l lowed b y intense

heat and a mos t oppre s s ive a tmosph e re .

B o b and hi s com pan ion s were a lmos ts t i f led in the dun geo n. Th e vi l lage was

quie t , for Afzu l Ali had g on e off with tho

bulk of his men , hav ing app oin ted th e f irst

da y of Mar ch for the torture a nd e xe c u t i on

of  the pr isoners . Mer kab rema ined in the

fortre ss, b ut sinc e the da y of his visit w ith

the chief ta in B o b had seen nothin g of him.

Six men were loungin g in the low er roo ms

of  t he dungeo n tower , keeping gua rd .

Ab ou t mid day —or , to be exac t , a t 11

a.m.—the earth sudd enly be gan to rock in the

throes of a t r emendo us earthquake, a loud

rumbl ing roa r was heard as though a great

sea was abo ut to ove r whe lm the vi ll age ,

and the wa l ls of the pr ison be gan to shake.

A heavy c ra sh was heard be low, succeeded by

cr ies and groa ns of men . Th e tow er was

roc ked t o i ts fou nda t ion s an d a large piece of  the wa l l near ly fe l l up on Amr an an d Tal ib .

The sh ocks con t inued for some tinre,

gradua l ly bec omin g l e s s v iolent , and when

they subs ided Amran and Ta l ib , a l though

alm ost para lyse d with f r ight , rea l ised tha t

the y had been loose d by the fa l l ing of the

inner port ion of the wal l . B ob was still

held by his fe t ters . Abs olu te s t i llness no w

reigned in the towe r , but Amran not ice d

tha t ma ny of the Afgha ns had rushed from

their dwe l l ings .

Holding his chain in one hand, for it still

encirc led his wais t , Amra n walke d to the

ope n doo r and peeped through.

" Go do wn and help the men in the roo ms

b e l o w , " said B ob , " they have sufferedm or e than w e ha ve . "

Am ra n smiled and repl ied. " Ye s , my lo rd,

I will go do wn , but no t to help. I f I ha ve

a chance I wil l take food and weapons , and

if  possible , f ind the keys to unlock  these

waist-bel ts of ours ."

Lea ving Bo b in the dungeo n, Amran

and Tal ib w ent do wn the s tone s teps ,

p i c k i ng their way caut ious ly through the

wreckage . The room immedia te ly be low

the cel l was empt y, save for weap ons a nd

food . Snatching up daggers the two men

went into the basem ent . This por t io n of  

the towe r had receiv ed the most injury.

A great part of the he avy d oor had fa l len

in and the wal ls were cracked in several

places . Pinn ed bcner . th roc k and t imb er

were the s ix guard s . On e, only , wasgroanin g as Am ran push ed his way in, and

present ly s t i l lness re igned. Th e man was

dead. Sna tching som e heavy keys f rom

the wa l l Am ran tried the m on the i ron

girdle whic h was fas tened roun d Tal ib 's

wais t. Aft er a few failures he fou nd t he

right key , and his co mra de f lung the shackles

from him to the gro und . In a few mome nts

Am ran wa s a lso f reed.

" No w, Ta l ib , we must barr icade the door

in orde r to kee p the Afreedees out . Wh en

the alarm is over they will come here, and

if  t hey di scove r tha t th e guards are dead,

will asce nd t o our prison to mak e all sec ure.

If  Merk ab is uninjured he wil l c o m e straight

here . Come, he lp me ."

But th ey were too weak to do muc h, and

the do or was com pose d of mass ive baulks

of  t imbe r . After mu ch effor t the y manag ed

t o b lock   the entr ance, but i t woul d be

clear to anyone glancing a t i t tha t the work-

had been done in order to prevent intruders

frorrr corrrirrg in to the to we r. Am ra n Al i

s udde n l y startled Ta l ib by darting f rom

the roo m and running up the steps to the

dungeon where he had lef t Bob.

" Forgive me, my lord," he sa id, as he

busied himself with the keys , " we were

so anxiorrs to ma ke a barrier tha t we

neglec ted to re lease thee . The guards ar e

dea d, crushed b y brok en walls and w ood

work . W e have block ed the ent r ance ,

and it will stand for a tim e, but the respite

will not be for long . Th e Afreedees wil l

soon r ecove r f rom the terror inspired byth e earthquake, and M erka b wil l send a

company to s ee that we have not e scap ed."

B o b was stiff and so re, and his weak ness

made exer t ion t rying, but f reedom gave him

ene rgy. He went dow n to the lowes t roo m.

" That d o o r w ill not stand a siege very

l ong , " he sa i d; " we had better make the

second roo m our s t ronghold . The stairs ar e

na r row so tha t only one man can come up

at a t ime . W e had better hide the b odie s

of  the guard s , or , i f we can re lease them ,

le t us c a n y them to the dung eon and lay

t he m there, out of s ight of the Afreed ees .

Set t o wo rk, lads, an d let us see if we ca n

ge t them out . "

It wa s a difficult and ve ry unpleasant

task; three men onl y were vis ible , the

others lay bur ied beneath the debr is . Thecom rad es carried the bodie s to their dunge on ,

first stripping them of  their c lothing and

securing their weapons , and then b l oc ke d

up the door . Proceed ing to the s econd

r o o m they s tack ed a l l the arms a nd a m m u

nition they could find, and arranged th e

[s tore

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P R E H I S T O R I C C R I C K E T .

That miserab le old Dinos aurus upsets the Test Ma tc h again !

(Brawn for the " Boy's Own Paper " by II. J. WALKER.)

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634 The "Boy's Otoun Taper.

s tore of provis ions and firewood. T h e n

they b lock ed the s ta i rway as much as

poss ib le and sat do wn to en jo y the first

hear ty meal they had had for more than

s ix m o n t h s .

I t w as ver y plain fare, but the y w ere

ravenous , and made the f o o d disappear

l ike magic . The c lo th in g of the dead

Afghans next afforded a satisfaction greater

than any jewels or gold coul d have g iven .

It was not of tho cleanest , but co mp are d

with the horrib le rags which hung ab ou t

the prisoners i t was a wardrobe of the

r iches t descr ip t ion . Bo b too k a b o w l of 

water in to one corner and en joye d the

lux ury of a bath a n d then g o t A m r a n t o

shave his head with his sharp A f g h a n

knife. A f t e r tha t ho began t o feel l ike an

Engl i shm an aga in , a l though h is comrades

failed to appreciate his horror of  dir t .

I t was no t until e v e n i n g that the Afreedees

carao to see tha t all was r ight wit h tho

tower . Fr om the outs ide the dam age done

to i t cou ld not be disce rned . Th ey tr ied to

push the d o o r o p e n , a n d stared in astonish

ment whe n they found i t bar r icaded .

" Abdu l lah — Imaun — Suffeer •— open to

us ! M erk ab K ha n has sent us to see ho wtho pr i soners fa re— Are ye there ? — A b d u l l a h

I say , open the do or . "

Receiving no answer one of them ran off  

fo r M e r k a b , t h e rest s tanding about and

peer ing up a t the tower . Merkab soon

cam e hur ry ing a long . He k icke d the door

and shouted to Abdul l ah .

Am ran s to od behind the win dow s li t

and muffl ing his voice c r i e d o u t :

" W h o is there ? "

" 'T i s I , Merka b Kha n. W h y hast t h o u

b l oc ke d th e d o o r ? Ope n, and let us in."

" We aro wou nde d, my lord , a s tone

fell up on my face and m y mo ut h is injured .

Imau n i s s ick a l so . Th e rest are bruised

and sore . Suffeer guar ds the p risoners.

W e are all r ight, but need quie t . Th e

ear thquake brok e down the wal l s inside ,

and the t imber s have fallen acro ss the

door . W e aro to o sore to try t o clear i t

to-ni ght, but at da ybr eak , if al l is well ,

wo will ma ke an effo rt ."

Merk ab ham mer ed wi th h is p i s to l bu t t ,

and som e of the Af reede es tr ied to force

the door , bu t the y coul d not mo ve i t .

" A b d u l l a h , hear me ! I mus t c o m e in

early in the morn ing to see the prisoner s.

Afzul Ali requi res me a t the- Khoo rd K abu l

Pass. A kafila of Fering hees will go thro ugh

in a few da ys from Jella labad on their w a y

t o K a b u l . T h e y take gold f r o m H i n d o s t a n

to Shah Shujah . Afzul A l i w o u l d share

tha t gold am on g the Afreedees and I mus t

leave here to post the me n ab ov e the ravin es.

Before I go I wan t to assure m y s e l f   tha tthe prisoners are in safe keeping."

" Ha ve no fear , my lord , " rep l ied Am ran ,

gr inning a t B o b and Ta l ib , " the ear thquake

d i d n o t harm the dung eon of the t ower .

If  y o u wish I will fling the head of  tha t

c u r s e d K h y b e r e e d o g d o w n t o y o u n o w .

I owe him some thin g for the troub le he has

given us. I am no t to o sore for reveng e,

my lord , and wi l l g lad l y do thy b id ding . "

" N a y , A b d u l l a h , take no t on thyse lf to

d o my work . Guard them wel l , and ear ly

in the mor nin g I will visi t thee. Bre ak 

d o w n tha t which b locks the door a t daybreak . .

Til l then, rest thy sore bones where th ou

a r t . "

" Allah keep thee , my lord ; have no fear

con cern ing the p risoners , the y shall remainin g o o d k e e p i n g . "

M e r k a b turned awa y, and dur ing th e

hour s of darkn ess the tow er was desert ed

b y a l l the v il lagers . Th e a tmos phere was

sti l l close and opp ress ive , and the earth

quake sho cks , o r rather t remors , cont inued

a t long in te rva ls . Wi th i n the towe r B ob

and h is com pan ion s were hold ing an anxious

consultation as to what should be their

next course of ac t ion . Amr an was keen

fo r vengean ce on Merkab , and wante d to

steal into the fortress and stab him when

he came for th in the morni ng . Bu t Bo b

resolute ly set his face against this .

" W e can have vengeance later," he said,

" when we have secured our l iber ty . D o

y o u kn ow the count ry wel l , Amr an , so as

to be ab le to reach the Kho or d Kab ul Pass

in a few da ys ? W e ma y be able to pay

Mer kab b ac k in a way he will not l ike if  

we can hide somewhere in the ravines of 

the Pass. Ev en if we to ok a week to reach

the plac e, we mig ht mee t him either goin g

or returning. I should dear ly l ike to spoil

him in his enterprise, a nd save the carav an,

o r if too late, i t would be a delight to way

lay Merkab when he has the gold . T h e

Brit ish mu st be sending man y lakhs of 

rupees in to Kab ul to keep the Afg hans

quie t under Sh ah Shuja h, fo r i t is clear

tha t Do st Mo ham me d has been defea ted

since we were capt ured , or Ghari Gh ilzai

w oul d not have been des t royed by Afzul

Ali . It is a dark  night and prom ises to be

s t i ll b lacker . Noth ing coul d promise betterfo r our esca pe. Let us each have ano ther

g o o d meal , and then with food in our bags

and p len ty of weap ons and ammun i t ion

we ough t to be ab le to evad e any pursuit .

I p ropose tha t we get out upo n the f lat

roof  of the tow er and low er ourse lves dow n

b y a rope, so tha t the ent rance will re

main b locke d and bar r icaded . The longer

o u r s tart is, the better it wil l be for us .

Prepare the f o o d , Tal ib , and pac k up what

we m u s t take with us. I will inspe ct the

roof  and Amran can at tend to the barricad e.

In ano the r hou r all will be quiet , we mus t

endeavour to ge t away then."

The tower, l ike all Afghan hil l forts ,

had a f lat roof, defe nde d by a wall whi ch

was abo ut tw o fee t in he ight . Fro m the

flagstaff  B o b s a w that a rope could be

lower ed to the gr oun d, and if, as was

likely, the rope was a g o o d l ength i t could

be taken onc e ro un d th e flagstaff and then

pulle d to the groun d whe n the prisoners

had escaped . Thus no ind ica t io n would

be g iven tha t the y were no lon ger in the

t o w e r .

A m r a n , h a v i n g c o m p l e t e d h i s b l o c k a d i n g

of  the do or , dragg ed the rope up to th e

roof . I t was a strong thin rop e used in

the fields, and was ke pt u po n a w oode n

peg dr iven in to the wal l behind the doorway.

Tal ib had mad e a f ire and pre pared a ho t

meal . Aga in, with capital appet i tes, th e

compa nions ga thered round the f i re . Th e

h o t f o o d cheered and s t rengthened them,

and they fe l t ready for their per i lousa d v e n t u r e .

B o b knot te d the rop e a t spaces of about

five yar ds, and also t ied several stou t

pieces of  w o o d in it to afford resting places

if  an yo ne got t ired in the desc ent. Th e

warm wind beat on their faces as th ey

stood on the roof  of the tower . B ob

volu ntee red t o be the f irst to desc end and

prom ised to kee p the rop e stea dy for the

other s. He sl ipped over the low wall

and cl ung to the rop e, stea dyin g himself  

aga ins t the tow er , and taking care to

hold firmly. More than onc e he grazed

his knuc kles against the stone, but h e

l ooke d up to the sky, and soo n fou nd himself  

safe on the g rou nd.

Am ra n was a heavi er weig ht and thedesc ent in the darkness tr ied his cou rage .

Tali b was so eager to rejoin his comr ade s

that he swung himself off  w i thout hesitat ion,

and then assisted B o b to drag the ro pe

aro un d the flagstaff, a nd so to the g ro un d.

It was a deligh t to breathe the air of f ree

dom onc e again. Th e vil lage show ed no signs

of  life, alth ough l ights were shining in the

fortress. As the comrad es gathered their

w e a p o n s and rop es toget her, a dog barke d

s o m e w h e r e near. I t was answered b y

anothe r, and a man cam e to the door of 

a hut an d sto od for a mome nt, with a

lantern in his han d, peeri ng acro ss the fields.

He w ent in again, and Bo b whispered to his

com rad es to make for a peak which stoo d

out, in the darkness, towards the west .

Step ping noiselessly, they glided aro und

the towe r, and, avoi din g the road to the

s t ronghold , where Merkab was , they c rossed

some stone dykes and got on to the open

mounta i n . As much as poss ib le they k ept

awa y f rom the snow until they had left

the vil lage several miles behind, and then

boldly trav erse d the sn ow field. Th e da ys

of  rain had not made much difference

aw ay from the vil lage and they foun d th e

wa y fairly easy.

T h e y pushe d on all night, traversing a

rugged mounta in r idge which te rmina ted

in a high peak , and wh en th ey came to the

edge they glissad ed down the slop e, and

so with great rapidity gained a secluded

ravine , whic h ran do wn to a Pass at the

bot t om. Hal f -w ay dow n the gorge theygather ed th e snow into a rude shelter and

camped for the rest of the da y, secure from

all obse rvat ion, being greatly aided b y the

white exp anse which stretch ed all around.

A t night they made their way down to the

Pass, traverse d i t for a mile or tw o, and

then too k to the hil ls again.

Th us travell ing b y night and resting in

caves or snow shelters by day , they found

themselves on the mounta ins which towered

ove r the en t rance to the Khoo rd Kabu l

Pass . From their eleva ted posit io n of 

several thous and feet they saw , on the

mor ning of the sixth d ay, a long string of 

A f g h a n s pick ing their path, about ha l f -w^y

d o w n a mounta in s ide , ev ident ly making

fo r a poin t mi dw ay in the Pass. Bo b and

his co mp an ion s lay bid in the snow, entirely

c ove r e d in the fleecy mantle, and watc hed th e

men. probabl y four hundred in number ,

swift ly making their way a long .

W h e n they had go ne out of sight Bo b

t ook   a course parallel with them, st i l l

keep ing far ab ov e the Afreedees. He did

not venture to descend until night had

thr own its fr iendly darkness ov er the

cou ntr y. The n, sl iding and glissading, the

three men c am e to the low er level , and

crossed the track mad e by ma ny feet . Th ey

determ ined t o get dow n into the Pass, and

then t o follow the course of the r iver, until

they could find an easy path up the ot her

side of the Pass.

After a long glissade down a snow-field,

and a difficult walk along the edge of a

prec ip ice , they came to a place where, by

the aid of the rope , i t was possible to reach

the roa d. I t require d a g o o d deal of skilful

effort, but th ey were successful , and B o b

  jump ed on to the roa d with a little cry of 

delig ht. I t was no w near midnight , and

Amran sugges ted that it would be well to

find she lter in som e ca ve , an d rest for a few

h o u r s .

The y walked towards the Kabu l end of  

the ravine and were on the point of entering

a cave when Amra n called on them to halt .

" H i s t ! " s a i d h e , " I h e a r d a h o r se

neighin g just no w. Ther e is a ca mp som e

where near. Stay here, Talib, while my

lord goes forward . D o yo u not hear a

t rampl ing of   hoofs ? M y ears are not soquick as yours, Lari Khan, but I am sure

I am not mis tak en . "

" Y e s . A m r a n , I hear them . Wai t here ,

I will scou t alon g the ro ad ."

He stepped swift ly alo ng until he came

to a projecti ng mass of roc k, and crawling

on hi s hands and knees , go t near e n o u g h

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Through Afghan Snobvs. 635

to see that an enc ampm ent of abou t one

hund red British soldiers had been for med

around ten great four-wheeled waggons

and a bat tery of Horse Artil lery. Th ey

were abou t one hundred y ards away from

the rock where he was crouching.

^0

Bob rose to his feet and was tu rn ing away

when a stro ng hand was laid upo n his

shoulder and a pistol barrel, co l d as ice,

pressed his temple.

" H e l l o , Joh nny ," sa id an Engl ish v o i ce ,

" what are yo u after ? Do n' t try to

(To be continued.)

run or you ' l l leave you r brains behind

you , and it is foolish to be l ight-he aded.

Up with your hands, you y e l l o w - f a c e d ,

bald- headed nigger, or I ' l l punch a hole

in yo u. Wh o are yo u, yo u son of a

gun ? "

^0 ^0S O M E F I E L D E V E N T S A ND H O W T O

W I N T H E M .

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

(English Amateur Javelin-throwing C/utmpion, 1911; Hon. Secretary, Amateur Field  Events Association.)

III .—THE RUNNING AND STANDING HIGH JUMPS.

Th e High Jump.

(P. 0 . Hitching, L.A.O., British Olympic Team, 1908.)

1st Position.—The right leg is now in position to cross the bar.

took   hi s th i rd try and brought i t down

again, so I wen t all out an d cle ared it, bu t

cam e do wn on my shoul ders a fearful

cracker on the hard turf and was sore for

days after .

Ha d a pit been pro vid ed on this occas ion itwould hav e save d me a severe shaking and

we should both probably have cleared a

couple more inches .

Th e meth od I use and a lways advoc ate

was learned b y watc hing the Ame ric an

  junipers day after da y, and b y reasoning out

why each par t icu lar a t t i t u d e occurred where

it did . Th en I th ou gh t it all ou t and tried

to fath om wher e energ y c o u l d be saved,

and, for the purpose of  this article, I th ink  

we m a y take the jum p stage by stage—

the prelimi nary run, the take-off, appro ach

ing the bar and clea ring it.

Let i t be clearly underst ood at the start,

that b o d y con tr ol whe n in the air is the

most impor tant facto r, for if the ath lete lose

control of his b o d y at any one poin t of the

compl icate d evolutio ns he will be hopelessly

undone.

F or many years English ath letes have

been con ten t to use the " Scissor Ju mp ," by

means of which the bar is app roa che d from

the side, the leg nearest to th e b ar is sw un g

up and o ut away ov er, the other leg fo l low ing

naturally. Thi s meth od is all right in its wa y,

but i s not capable of impr ovem ent muc h

beyond the exten t of the ath lete 's natural

spring, because in th is way of jum pin g the

THE RUNNING HIGH JUMP.

IN this event, a bo ve all things else,

method; form and style are absolu tely

essential, and in order that th e n o v i c e m a y

not be handi capped in an y w ay in his efforts

to attain profic iency, let me imp ress on all

Sports Committees, and on those b o y s w h o

are lucky enough to be able to pract ise

at home as well, how impo rtant the sand

pit is.

In the best styles of jum pin g the n o v i c e ,

before he really acquires b o d y control , wi l l

frequently fall an yh ow , and to land on grass

and be severely shaken is dis cour agi ng, t o

say the least of it. Fur the rmo re, if a m an

has t o be all the wh ile think ing of how-

he is goin g to land he ca nn ot give th e

proper amount of  at ten t ion to getting ov er

the bar.

In the method I use it frequ ently hap pen s

that I c o m e dow n flat on my sho ulde rs,

even after years of pra cti ce, f reme mbe r

some years ago jump ing at a coun try meetin gwhere no sand pit was provid ed, c o n s e

que ntl y f was all the tim e worr yin g to l and

squa re on ray feet. No w, there was an

ol d rival of mine in for that jump whom I

particu larly wanted to bea t, and when the

bar go t to abo ut 5 feet 6 inch es, we bo th

broug ht i t dow n twice . Th e othe r m an

Th e High Jump.

2nd Position.—Eight leg is now well over; the left leg has been thrown up and over, and the bodybrought down to meet it.

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636 The "Boy's Obun Taper.

b o d y is perfe ctly upright or else bent fo r

ward ov er the leg.

In the bes t me th od , on ly a shor t run is

requ ired —abo ut 20 yard s is sufficient—and

only the last few s tr ides sho uld be at full

pace . No w , first let the athlete decide what

is to be tho exte nt of his run fro m the bar.

and meas ure i t so tha t he can always get

the same run ; then let him find out at

wha t poi nt of the run he require s to incre aseto full pace and m ark  t h a t ; finally, let him

get his take-off and mark  tha t . For the

purpose of  this artic lo we will assu me that

the jum pe r, at the end of his run, t akes off 

from his right leg.

The run is t aken , not  from tho side but

st ra ight at tho bar, an d when the tak e-off 

mark is reached the jum per swerve s slightly

to the side, and jab s his heel hard d o w n .

A s he rises int o the air t he left leg is sw ung

up ab ov e the heigh t of the ba r, whi ch m o v e

me nt is ver y mate riall y assisted b y als o

swinging up t he left side and a rm ; this lifts

the who le leg and left side on a level with

the bar whic h the left leg has alre ady par t ly

crossed.

A s tho jumper rises he begins to turn sothat whe n tho bar is cros sed he is para llel

to it, but at right angles, the left side being

d o wn ward s . N ow the left leg is swun g

d o wn on the far ther side of the bar, at the

sa me time the right leg is swu ng up a nd

o v e r simultaneously with this, the left leg

being thr own back and up to aid the m o v e

men t .

Th e t u rn ing mo ve me nt set up at the

c o m m e n c e m e n t of the jump continues, and

the jum pe r land s faci ng the bar he has

  just clear ed. Man y jum per s have peculiari

ties of styl e which sui t the m best, but th e

m e t h o d that I hav e just desc rib ed is the basis

of  them all .

TH E STANDING HIGH JUMP.

In this even t the old Scissor J u m p is

e mp l o y e d , and however Ra y Ewry cleared

5 feet 8 ins. w ith a s tand jump abso lu tely

beats me.

T he first essent ial for this sport is a

perfectly placid nerve, a ca lm mind and

full confide nce in one's own abili ty to put

up a first-class per for man ce, adde d to which

one must have great natural spring. Again,

as in the runn ing high jump, there must be

c o mp l e t e b o d y contro l .

There is, of course, a part icular knack  

which can best be dem ons tra ted by a skilful

performer, but in this coun try standing high

  jumpers are few and far betwe en, so the

f o l l o w i n g dire ctio ns will no doubt b e fou nd

of  assist ance t o the be ginne r at this

spor t .

The jumper t akes up his position beside

the bar and a little in adva nce of the upright,

as is sho wn in the acc omp any ing simple

diagram. The feet are placed c lose to each

other, but the athle te should not be too

c lose to tho bar, or in jumping he will

blun der into it and bring it down , espec ially

% +if  the ba r be at a sufficient heigh t to be

almos t level with the s houlder.

Having placed the feet in posit ion, the

athle te rocks backwards and forwards on the

toes and heels sever al times, and whe n he

feels tha t his muscles arc wel l tautened

up the spring is ma de upwar ds and inwards .

A s the b o d y rises (assuming tha t th e b o d y

is left side to the ba r), the shoul der first

crosses the b ar and t ho left leg is thro wn

high, and, immediately the b o d y is cen

tralised o ve r the bar , is cu t smartly d ow n ;

the left arm , also, is swu ng dow n and out in

order to help carry the b o d y awa y from the

bar .

Simulta neously with these tw o m o v e

ment s, the righ t leg is swu ng up and the

right arm acr oss the b o d y an d up ; this

carries the right leg over and the j um p is

finished. A s the hei ght of the ju mp in

creases, the b o d y in cleari ng the bar sinks

farther bac k, the legs and hi ps being all

the t ime thro wn higher.

The rule as to a fair jump is that nei ther

f o o t must com plet ely leave the ground nor

be slid along tho ground more than o n c e

in any direction in making the jump, or, in

other w ords, after the jump er has taken up

his stand, ho mus t not sudd enl y spring up a

little way and then ma ke his ju mp as the

feet touc h the groun d again. The spring

must be absolut ely st ra ight and clear from

a standing posit ion.

(To be continued.)

" Y O U R prosperity in life largely depends

on th o goodwil l and confidence and sympa thy

of  those with whom you deal. Tru th ,

honesty, fidelity, and purity win confidence.

A n d this is g o o d capital for a young m an." —

  H. W. Beecher.

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The Son of an Anarchist. 637

Th e Standing High Jump.

(F . 0 . Kitching, L.A.O.)

Note how the left leg is heing swung down to clear the body over the bar . Also note how the arni3

are being used to control and balance the body.

X X X

T h e Son of sin

A T a l e of  S t r a n g e M y s K - r y a n d W i l d A d v e n t u r e .

By W. A. B. CLEMENTSON, M.A.,

  Autltor of " A Couple of Scamps," etc.

C HA PTER xxiv. (continued)—PAOLO M E E T S CIUSEPPE.

" TX7HY

' ' * ' s m y little friend Paolo ! "

VV cried Giu sepp e in gen uine surpri se.

" This is the last place where I should

have expected to meet you . Are you r g o o d

father and m other here with you , to o ? "

Paolo frowned : he saw tha t it would never

d o to tell Bard i where his father was.

" My father and moth er are quite well,

thank  yo u, " he said, preten ding to mis

understand the question.

" That is good new s," said Bard i. " Arethe y here with yo u ? "

" No , not here," said Paolo, equivoca t ing .

' ' I am here with two friends of mine a nd

a tutor. G ood morning, Mr. Bardi . I ' m

afraid I must be going o n . "

" Oh no, my dear Paolo . No t so fast.

Remember, we have n't met for such a long

time, not since that evening when you played

me that charming piece on your viol in—

let me see, what was it—•' So u v e n i r '

I think it was called. ' T o Re me mb er, '

that is what it mea ns."

Paolo's face darkened as he " remembered "

al l that had happened since then.

" Oh, all that is chan ged no w, " he said.

" I am not the same boy who played that

piece and you are not my friend."

" Wh y not ? Wh at hav e I don e to

•offend ? "

" What have you done ? " repeated Paolo ,

white with rage. " Wh at haven' t yo u don e 1

Y o u promised me on your honour to protect

m y father, and then you made h im join that

horrible society. Y o u were one of   their

leaders, you helped to hunt him down an d

try to kill him. Y o u hav e do ne all yo u

c o u l d t o ruin us ; a nd then you go and call

yourself my friend. "

Bard i professed to be great ly astonished

at this outburst .

" What on earth docs al l this mean, my

dear Paolo ' ! " he said. " W h o has been

saying all these bad things abo ut m e ? I have

been in mu ch the same bo x as your father.

Y o u say he has been hunted by the anarchi sts;

well, so have I. I have had to leav e Eng land

an d take refuge here, beca use I refuse to

agree to their p o l i c y of  violence an d

assassination."

For the mom ent Pa olo wondered if he

had been unjust to Mr. Ba rd i; after all,

there was no proof   that he had been mixed

up in the anarchist s' crimes . Bu t Pao lo

ha d learnt to l o o k   upon this s mo o t h - s p o k e n

man as a t ra i tor and a false frie nd, and the

suspicion with wh ich he regarded him w as

not easily shaken off. He tho ugh t, how eve r,

that it would be best to g i v e him the benefit

of  the doubt and to take the f irst op port uni ty

of  gett ing away from him.

" The n you had nothing to do with i t

at a l l ? " he said, preten ding t o be greatly

relieved. " Y o u do not agree wi th the

horrible deed s o f thos e ' Sons of Glorio us

Liberty ' ? "

" No , on m y honour . How ever c o u l d y o u

think  that , Paolo ? "

" W e l l , then I beg your pardon for ever

thinking i t , Mr. Bardi . But I really must

be ge t t ing back ."

" N o , c o m e and have a meal with me, and

I will tell yo u so me more stories ; just like

o l d t imes, you know. I have several new

ones , which yo u have n't heard."" Oh," sa id Paolo , not to be enticed.

" I can tell s tories, to o, mo re exci t in g than

y o u used to tell, Mr. Bardi, and true o n e s . "

This was a very different Paolo from th e

b o y t o w h o m he had told his wonderful

tales, thought Bardi , and he marvel led at

the ch an ge ; was i t possible that his

father's peril from the v enge ance of the anar-

chists c o u l d hav e so altered his cha ract er ?

Bardi saw that , whether or no t Pao lo bel ieved

him to be innocent , he had been depo sed

al together f rom the pede stal of the b o y ' s

hero-worship and he would have hard wo r k  

to regain his posi t io n. Bard i , howev er,

showed no signs of his disapp ointme nt and

merely said, " W e l l , then yo u shall tell me

your adventures ; I don ' t mind. Yo u mus t

c o m e and see me in my villa in the country,

and play me that delightful ' Sou ven ir '

to remind me of old t imes. "

" I have n't got my viol in here ," objected

Paolo , wh o did not w ant to be remind ed of  

th e past.

"N ev er mind. Yo u sha ll use mine .

I t is a real ' Cr em on a' —a glorious instru

ment . Yo u mus t c o m e . "

Paolo waver ed. Ye s, he had been very

hasty in suspect ing Mr. Ba rd i ; the horr id

dwarf  had no doubt deceived bot h him and

his fath er. It is a bit ter thing to have to

suspec t a friend of trea cher y an d bitter-Bweet to disc over one's suspicions have been

unjust . Y et Pao lo decid ed that , while

giving Mr. Bar di the benefit of the d ou bt ,

he would do noth ing to enda nge r his father

until he was absolut ely sure of Bardi . He

therefore told him that he would be very

pleased to c o m e and visit him one day if his

mother would allow him ; but that at present

he must say g o o d - b y e as it was nearly time

fo r dinner .

" Ah , so yo ur mothe r is here after all ? "

said Bard i sharply . " D o tell me yo ur

address and I will cal l upo n her ."

" I think i f you don 't mind, Mr. Ba rdi , "

said Paolo , " we had bett er w ait an d see if 

mot her is feeling fit to see yo u. If yo u will

g ive me you r address, I will write and tell you

if  sh e would like yo u to call. Y ou see, after

all she has been thro ugh she doe sn' t care

about seeing many people . "

Bardi was ob l iged to accept this plausible

explana t ion, though he c o u l d not qui te

make ou t whether P aolo st il l suspected him

or not .

" Pao l o , " said he, " I believe yo u still

suspe ct me of bein g in league with yo ur

father 's enemies ? Do n' t yo u no w ? "

Paolo flushed with shame, for he knew

it was true. H e c o u l d say things to put

Bardi off the sce nt, but h e c o u l d not l!e.

" W e l l , ye s, " he said . " I did for a little

Y o u see, Mr. Bardi, the anarchists have led

us such a l i fe, that we kee p suspec ting nea rly

everyone ."

" H o w can I prove to yo u that I a m

innocent of these cr imes ? " asked Bardi , not

in the least ang ry.

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638 The "Boy's Otvn Paper.

" I don ' t kno w, " sa id Paolo , feeling he was

v e r y unreasonable .

" Wh at reason have yo u for suspec t ing

m e t "

" O n l y that yo u presente d my father to

the soci ety , and the anarchists have n ot

t r ied to k i ll yo u . "

" I tel l yo u they ha ve. I have twice

been shot at in the street, and I have received

at least three letters from the Valian t

D i c t a t o r . "

" W h a t w er e t h e y l i k e ? " asked Paolo

quickly , thinking he saw here a way to prove

th e truth of Bard i ' s s tory .

" Th ey were writ ten in red ink, " said

Bard i .

" C o u l d you show me one ? "

" With pleasure, my dear P a o l o . "

" I will believe you then," said Paolo .

" An d yo u will tel l me where yo ur moth er

is stay ing ? "

Aga in that unaccountable feeling of sus

picion ca me over the bo y, and he determin ed

that he wo uld not tell Bar di where his

parents were ." Mr. Bardi, " h e said, " m y mot her

really does no t care a bou t seeing any

people . I would rather see her first bef ore

I ask you to call ."

" I can see you do not trust m e, Paolo ,

or yo u wou ld not min d tel l ing me where

y o u are staying."

" I don ' t kn ow why yo u keep asking me ,

Mr. Bardi . Y o u r being so anxi ous to kno w

makes me suspect you . If i t is only because

y ou wish to see my people , surely you can

wait ? "

" I am not anxious to know where they

are, Paolo , but I ask yo u to tell me me rely

as a sign that y o u t rus t me. I will sho w yo u

the letter first."

" I t is mot her I am thinking o f," said

Paolo . " Can' t I do some thing else to show

that I trust you ? "

" Well, yes, if you like. C om e and have

lunch wi th me no w. "

" Th ey will be exp ecti ng me ba ck at

the " said Pa o l o , nearly giving away his

secret .

" Oh, very wel l , " said Bard i. " I t does n' t

matter. Bu t I mus t confess yo u disappoint

mo , Paolo . I t is n ' t ve ry generous of yo u

t o refuse me this small sign of  conf idence ,

before yo u have even waited to see if I could

p r ove my innocence . G o o d - b y e , Paolo , y o u

have chang ed sadly since the days wh en

we wore fr iends."

Pa o l o ' s better feelings were stung b } ' this

reproach .

" Mr. Bar di, " he said, " I 'm so sorry.

Y o u are r ig ht; I have n' t been acting l ike

a sportsm an. If you r letter is really like

the one my father had, I' ll c o m e and lunch

with y ou , so long as yo u don' t ask me to tel l

yo u where my peop le are staying t i l l I have

to ld the m yo u are here." '

Bard i smiled and. produ cing a letter f rom

his poc ket , hand ed i t to Paolo , saying , " V e r y

well, it 's a barg ain. I thin k  that will satisfy

y o u . "

Pa o l o unfolded the letter and saw it was

writ ten in red ink in the same handw rit ing

as tho ones which his father had received.

It ran as follows : —

"  Brother Giuseppe Bardi, You have proved 

 yourself  an unworthy member of our  great 

society, you have refused to obey our  orders.

therefore you must die. We will give you the

option of putting an end to your own life ;

but if at the end of three days you have not 

done so we shall be compelled  to take action

ourselves. Do not think you can escape, for 

we shall pursue you to the ends of the earth.

S . G . L . "

Pa o l o read this through to the end and then

l ooked at the enve lope . There was no

mi sta ke; i t was from the dwarf and i t h ad

come thro ugh the post , for i t bore a Lo nd on

p o s t m a r k .

W i t h a very red face he handed i t back 

to Bardi, saying penite ntly, " Mr. Bardi , I 'v e

been a beast. Will y o u forgive me ? "

" Certainly, P a o l o , " said Bardi , holdin g

out his han d. " I am glad we are friends

again. An d I wo n' t ask you to c o m e t o

lunch with me unless yo u l ike. I kno w

you w o n ' t distrust m e n o w . "

" O h , but I p rom ised , " sa id Paolo . " I

should be worse than a beast to refuse your

invi ta t ion no w. Th e o thers wi l l wonder

where I am, but I ' l l explain all about i t

when I get back . Wh at did yo u do tooffend the anarchists , Mr. Bardi ? "

" C om e and hav e somet hing to eat and

I will tel l yo u, " said Ba rdi.

So Paolo accom panie d h is f r iend through

several narrow and dirty streets swarming

with begg ars to a smal l restaurant in an

obscure corner of the city. Here they sat

dow n at a l i t t le table and Bardi, summoning

a waiter , ordered a meal for Pao lo and

himself .

" I t w as just after you r father joine d

the s oci ety ," he began, " that I d i scovered

that it was no t the sort of thing I be liev ed

it to be. The re is an inner circle, who run

the wh ole affair, of wh om the dwarf is the

leader. These scoundrel s use the societ y

to help them with their own cr imina l

schemes ; and for this purpo se they try to

get hold of innoc ent and well-meaning

enthusiasts l ike yo ur father and myself   and ,

by giv ing them s ome share in their cr imina l

acts, t hey so enslave th em that when once

they ha ve been used as the tool s of the dwarf 

they are not l ikely to turn informers, for

(To te

fear of being themselves tr ied for the ac ts

they have commit ted . Y our father was brave

eno ugh to refuse t o assist in one of  their

wicked schemes, so he was condemned to

death. I was given the task of delivering the

letter which announ ced his fate, but of course

I refuse d, with the result that next morning

I receiv ed the letter you saw jus t now."

" The n you got into trouble for my father 's

sak e ? " said Paolo . " Mr. Bardi, you make

me more ashamed than ever. But why does

that dwarf send these letters ? I should hav e

thou ght i t would have been quicker to kil l

people wit hou t warni ng the m first."

" So it wou ld. Bu t it is a fan cy he has.

He likes to play w ith his victi ms like a c at

with a mouse ; he rejoice s in terrifyin g them

before he kills the m. An d, of cours e, if the }'

take his hint and co mm it suicide, i t saves

the anarchists a good deal of trouble."

Then, as they drank  their coffee, Bardi

went on to tell Paolo some of the narrow-

escape s whic h he had had, an d how he had

eventu ally reached Italy in safety. Pao lo

listened like one in a drea m, fascinated bythe man's amazing magnetism and the

breathless interest of his story. As he listened

and sipped his coffee a strange drowsiness

came ove r him and, leaning forward against

the table, he fell fast asleep.

Seeing this, Bardi be ckon ed to the waiter ,

who ca me runni ng up to see wha t was the

matter.

" This bo y has been taken i l l , " said

Bardi. " W oul d yo u be so good as to call

a ca b for me ? I must take him home. "

T h e waiter obe ye d and presently Bardi

picked Pa olo up in his stron g arms and

carried him out of tho restaurant to the

carriage, which was wait ing outside.

" Drive us to the Villa A l ba , " he said to the

ol d man who dro ve the dilapidated vehicle.

" Y ou kno w the place. Here is a gold piece

fo r you and you shall have another like it

if  you ge t there within an hour . It is a

matter of  life and death."

So saying, he jumped into the carriage

beside Paolo and the y dro ve off out of the

t o w n .

 continued.)

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639

5 f c

A M Y S T E R Y IN M I D - O C E A N .

W h o w a s th e XhieT on th e Morning Glory ?

By JOHN A. HIGG1NSON.

 A Story in Two

Chapters.

T E W A R D ! "" Y es , sir ."

" Have you

n o t s e e n

a n y o n e i n

m y r o o m

during the

da y •> "

Thus sud

de n l y chal

lenged th e

s t e w a r d

s e e m e d

g r e a t l y

as to n i sh ed ,

a n d d i s -

t r e s s e d b y

t h e q u e s

tion.H i s f a c e

f lushed — a

f ac t of which Captain Lit tle man t o o k   note.

But the next instant he looked the skipper

full in the face without flinching.

" No, sir," he said. " It wou ld b e

impossible for anyone to reach your r o o m

without m y knowing i t—I've been in

and out of the saloon or the pantry since

early morning."

Captain Littleman was greatly perplexe d.

H e could not bring himself to believe tha t

this man, who had saile d with hi m for

more than ten years, cou ld bo guilty of 

decept ion, but then there wa s tha t suspicious

flushing of the face when spoken to.

A t an y rate, a large sum of money had

mysteriously disappeared from the double-

locked box in which he had p lace d it in his

r o o m ; two hundred and fifty pounds

entrusted to his care by six time-expired

American naval seamen, who had joined the

ship at Callao, and were now returning home

after long service on the weste rn c oas t of 

South America.

" Has anyth ing happ ene d, s ir ? " the

Bteward inquired.

" The money that was handed over to me

by the new men has been stolen, " the Captain

replied sternly. " It was safe at breakfas t

t ime this morning. It seem s stran ge tha t

such a thing cou ld happen if you had been

about the cabin . Ta ke care that you do

not speak of  this to anyone. Tell Mr.

Seacombe that I wish to speak with him

immediately."

T h e steward withdrew with a bewildered

look   on his face.

A few moments later th e chief officer

knoc ke d on the state-room d o o r , an d

wit hout waiting for a reply entered the r o o m .

" The steward tells me that you want t o

se e me," he said.

" Ye s, " the Captain replie d in a lo w tone .

" Shut the door , and sit d o w n . Yo u and I

were supposed to be the on ly persons aware

of  that depos it of mone y by the new hand s."

" Ye s, two hundred and fifty pounds it

was. I counted it—all in American go ld

and silver. Was our reckoni ng not correct ? "

" It was ; but the whole am ou nt has be en

stolen."

" Stolen ! "

" Speak low , man ! " the Captain

whispered in evident agitation. " T h e

fellow at the wheel ma y hear us. We mus t

obs e r ve the strictest secrecy. Otherwise

the thief will be ala rmed a nd finally ch uc k 

the lot over the side. Yo u under stan d ? "

C HA PTER I.

"Understand! I should think I did.If  you didn't l o o k   so upset I' d swear yo u

were jokin g. It 's outrageous to think of 

i t . Who c o u l d have dared to do such a

thing ? "

" That is the problem tha t yo u and I

have to so lve before the Morning Glory

reaches Falmouth, Seac ombe . Yo u saw mc

s tow the mo ney in tha t double-locked box

bes ide my bed, didn' t y ou ? "

" Of course I di d."

" W e l l , look   at i t now."

" The locks have been fo rced , " the mate

whispered, as he exam ined tho box . " Ay ,

a y , and it seems as if the sharp point of a

marlin-spike had been forced between

it and the lid . Th o mar k is rou nd and

s m o o t h . "

" Exa ctl y ! Wha t surprises me is how itc o u l d be done without maki ng any noise,

o r tha t the thief  cou ld have escaped the

not i ce of the stewa rd w ho has been in the

sa loon all day."

" N o t consta ntly," the mate replied. " I

sa w him at the galle y with the c o o k   several

times this morning. Yo u don 't suspect him,

I supp ose ? "

" No. He seems almo st as perplex ed as

I am. I do not think  tha t the new hands

would talk  about the money openly among

themselves, or to the older men, and how an

outsider cou ld get hol d of the secret puzz les

m e . "

" Wh a t about young Rufus, the pantry

boy ? "

" The poor little wretch thinks of nothing

but filling his st oma ch. Besi des, he cou ld

not p ossib ly hav e know n of it, for I sent

h i m out of the saloon."

" It 's the most extraordi nary affair I ever

heard of, " the mate said. " Tw o hundre d and

fifty pou nds stol en from under your very

nose , and in broad daylight at that . It 's

e nough to puzzle a horse. Ha ve yo u any

thing to suggest 1 "

" We must bring Golder, the second mate,

into it. He and you , Seac ombe , cou ld then

have a ta lk, and also kee p an ext ra vigil ant

wat ch on the hands, espec ially by nig ht,

and in that way we might obtain a c lue .

Otherwise, if the mone y is not forthcom ing

before the end of the v o y a g e , I must, of 

cour se , refund it out of my private a cco unt. "

"Pretty hard lines for yo u, sir," t he mat e

replied, as he rose to leave the r o o m . " But

I cannot help thinking that the steward

k n o w s more of the matter than he seems

i nc l ined to admit."

" I do not think so ," Captain Little man

replied.

T h e interview had lasted much longer than

the mate anticipated. He immediately

returned to the dec k, his mind filled wi th

dark suspicions, but fully determ ined to

l e a ve nothing undone, so far as in him lay, to

di scove r the culprit.

"I t wi l l c o m e hard on Littl eman, " he

mused, " i f he 's c o m p e l l e d to refund the

m o n e y out of his own pocke t. Skipper s

aren' t blessed with to o much o f ' sinful pel f'

now a da ys . Tw o hundre d and fifty pounds I

Bless me ! ' T w o u l d make a big hole in ayear' s pay. He may say wha t he likes

abo ut the stewa rd, but I ' II lay any od ds that

th e fellow know s a deal more of this business

than he cares to divulge. Well , we'll see

which of us is right in the end. Th en the re ' s

that sharp-eyed, 'cut e-look ing boy , Rufus.

 [To be concluded next week.)

He ' s mostl y aft all the time , and wa tchingeveryt hing and ever ybo dy like a cat after

a mouse. He's mix ed up in this affair, too,

I' m sure. The hands ! why, they' re never

near the sal oon, save while standing a two

hours' ' tr ic k' at the wheel. I fancy I see

one of the rasc als sho vin g his nose inside the

c a b i n d o o r ! It woul dn' t suit his health, I

r e c kon . No, no, it'B the steward tha t ' s at

the bot tom of  this jo b, and he's dragged

the bo y into it."

H e t o o k   an early opportunity of talking

with Mr. Golder, the second mate, a nd the

lat ter agreed with him tha t all the circum

stances clearly pointed to the steward as

be i ng the guilty man.

" The skipper told m e, " Mr. Seacombe

added, " tha t on speaking of the matter a

daub of red paint w ould have made a w hitemark on the steward's face. That does not

l o o k   much like innocen ce."

" Of cour se not ," the other replied. " All

the sam e, sir, I '11 ke ep a brig ht look out

on th e fellows, and if anything turns up

be t w e e n this and Cape Horn I ' m bound to

let you know."

During the next fortnight a vigilant watch

was mainta ined b y both officers, but without

affording the slightest c lue .

Once or twice Mr. Golder fancied he had

d r o p p e d on some thing likely to help Captain

Litt lema n. For instance, late one evening

the seco nd mate f ound one of the old hands,

a ma n na med Mi lstien, half hidden away

under the fo 'c ' s ' l e head, and with him the

b o y Rufus, who seem ed to be c lose ly

fo l lowing som e instruct ions. On seeing the

officer, Milstien hastily put something into

his pocket.

" Wha t are you doing for'a 'd here, boy ? "

Mr. Golder inquired. " Ha ve yo u not been

strictl y warned against mixi ng amon gst t he

c r e w ? Go aft immedia tely."

" I—I was o n l y trying to—" the lad

muttered, but was quic kly cut short b y

th o sharp rejoinder of the officer.

" Yo u heard what I said—go aft ! "

R uf us hastened away with a dejected

air, and, addre ssing Milst ien, Mr. Golde r de

manded to know what he had hidden away

so hastily in his pocket.

" Wh y. nothin g but a bit o' bacc a, sir,"

the man replied. " The you ng un 's bent on

s m ok i ng , and I thought a pipeful o' hard

Cavendish would g i v e him suc h a ' sick ener '

as would last all his day s. Ther e's the plug,

sir," the fellow continued, and from his

poc ke t produced a small cake of  t o b a c c o ,

and the b o y ' s clasp knife.

" Yo u hav e no business to lead him astray

l i ke tha t ," the mate said. " Y ou kn ow he

is not allowed for 'a 'd ."

A n d so the incident ended, but Mr. Golder

was much disappointed tha t something more

impor tant had not been disco vered . Day

b y day the ship was now steadil y approa ching

co lde r latitudes. The nights grew longer,

the win d mor e bois tero us, and the sea

stronger. All hands were kept busily

e m pl oye d in sending d o w n the light weather

sails, heavier ca nvas t o o k   their places, a

good deal of ne w running gear was rove off,and chafing mats were secured to those parts

of  the stan ding rigging where the yards would

press most heav ily. In fact, eve ry pre

caution a gainst possible accide nt to the vessel

was taken, and sea bo ots and oilski ns were

sub sti tut ed for fine-weather clo thi ng.

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640 The "Boy's Otern Taper.

Our Rote Book.

TH E N E W OLYMPIAD AT

BERLIN.

FOR the 1916 Olympiad at Berlin the Stadium isto be erected on the racecourse in Grunewald in such

a way that 30,000 spectators can be accommodatedon seats, arranged in the form of an amphithea tre. Thearea, in round figures, is to be 290 metres long by95 metres wide.

Outside the arena it is proposed to erect a place

for water sports, consisting of a group of buildings,which will be closely connected with the Stadiumbuildings. The swimming tank will be bounded bydressing rooms, resting rooms, and refreshmentrooms, the roofing which—being the continuationof  the arena stands and terraces—will pro vide seatsfor from 3,000 to 4,000 spectators for use during thewater sports.

There are to be a cycle track (10 metres wide) andcinder path, and the rest of the arena, covered withgrass, will provide ample practice room for the variousbranches of sport. The football ground is to be inthe centre of the arena, and the rest of the groundwill be available for hockey, cricket, discus, javel in andhammer throwing, barlauf, etc.

The buildings of the Stadium include rooms reserved for indoor sports (gymnastic s, fencing, dancing,etc., resting and refreshment rooms, baths and douches)

inside the racing enclosure. Here, as well as in the

baths of the swhnmhig tank, will be found rooms for

medical measurements and examination of com

petitors. Ample accommodation will be provided

for the necessary dressing and other rooms. Athlete s

coming to practice will have at their disposal from

thirty to forty beds in separate rooms at the Stadium,and in a neighbouring restaurant on the racecourse.

Thus the arrangements promise to be very complete.

BIRD MIGRATION.SOME interesting particulars have been made public

regarding the work of the Aberdeen University Bird-

Migration Inquiry. Rings are placed on young birds

found in the nest, or on old ones that can be captured

without injury. The rings are of aluminium and

extremely light, and do not inconvenience the birds

in any way, and it is particularly requested that all

who may shoot, capture, or kill, or even hear of any

of  these marked birds, should inform the secretarv

of  the society at Aberdeen University.

The following results obtained at an early stage of 

the work show what very interesting information

may be obtained :—

" A Wigeon duckling, one of five marked in June,

1909, on Loch Brora, Sutherland, Scotland, was

taken in a duck-decoy in Province Groningen, north

eastern Holland, on September 3rd, 1909 . This

bird was thus only three months old when it was

found more than 500 miles from its birth-place. A

second member of the brood was shot on the Trent

near Retford, Lincolnshire, England, in January, 1911,

having worn the ring for a year and a half." An adult swallow, caught and marked at a farm

near Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in June, 19 09, was

recaught at the same farm in June, 1910.

" Five lapwings, marked as chicks in the north

east of Scotland in the summer-of 19 10, were shot

respectively in Counties Tipperary, Roscommon,

(jork, and Limerick, Ireland, and in southern I'ortugal

during the winter 1910-1911.

HEROES OF THE POLES.

THE heroism of Captain Scott and his comrades in

the dash for the South Pole, and their sad fate, have

called forth a large number of tributes. A useful

summary of the ill-fated expedition is included in

"Heroes of the Farthest North and Farthest S out h"

(W. & R. Chambers, Is.), which we recommend to

anyone wanting to read the whole history of Arctic

and Antarc tic enterprise. It is a stirring narrative

from first to last, and in bringing the story down to

Amundsen and Scott, it is as complete and ex haustive

as can be desired in so small a compass.

T H E C R I C K E T C H A M P I O N S OF 1912.

Th e men who won the Trophy for Yorkshire.

Top ro w: A. Dolphin. M. W . Booth . A. Drake. W. Rhodes.

Sifting: B. B. "Wilson. D. Denton. Sir A. W. White, Bart, (captain). G. H. Hirst. S. Haigh,

B tt R Kil E Old d W E B t

 [Photo, by Walter Davey A Sons, Harrogate,

J. Hoyland (scorer).