Boys Own Paper May 17, 1913

8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 17, 1913

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NO. 33, VOLUME XXXV.] S A T U R D A Y , M A Y 17, 1 91 3. Price One Penny.[ A L L B I G H T S R E S E R V E D . ]

T H E K I N G - M A K E R ' S O A T H. (See p. 521.)

The Earl of Wa rw ic k at the Battle of Ferrybridge.

(Drawn for the "Boy's Own Paper" by E D G A K A . H O L L O W A T . )



514 The "Boy's Otern Taper.

T h e S o n o f a n A n a r c h i s tA T a le o f S t r a ng e M y s t e r y and Wild Adventure .

By W. A. B. CLEMENTSON, M.A.,

Author of " A Couple of Scamps" etc.

H A T evening,

a f t e r t e a ,

R ona l d and

B o b b i e

strolled out

of the inn , an d, finding

a ha ys ta ck in a field,

belonging to a f armer

w hom they knew, they

lay do wn against it

and tried to get so me

sleep ; for they kne w

that they w ould be

ve r y tired before the

night was over unless

they rested now . The y

lay against the hay

stack dozin g til l some

time after sunset, when

a co ld wind sprang up

and they dec ided to m o v e on in order to keep

war m. Th ey tho ugh t it woul d be wise to

reach the ruin at ab out e leven, so as to be

able to con cea l thems elves effectually befo re

the mysterious s tranger arrived . As the

ruin was about an hour and a half's walk

away, it wou ld, therefore, be necessary to

leave Roc kl ei gh at half-pas t nine. Till then

they amused themselves by walking about

the village and talk ing to the inhabitan ts .

E ver yone was curio us to kn ow what the

t w o scouts were doing in Roc klei gh so la te in

the evenin g ; but, wit hou t actuall y sayi ng as

m uch , they gav e the impression that they

were on their way to visit a neighbouring

c a m p , where they wer e goi ng to spend the

night.

Lea vin g the village at half-past nin e, th ey

had a long moonl ight walk through the

wo o d s and b y the river side, whic h, if the y

had not felt so exc ite d abo ut the adve ntur e

that lay before them, would have b een

most enjoyable. At las t they reach ed the

ruin. It was quite deserted and l o o k e d most

dreary and mourn ful in the moon lig ht, its

grey ivy -cr own ed walls mirro red in the water

of a large pond , which lay on one side of t he

bui ldi ng, half filled wit h water-l ilies . Th er e

was not a sound to be heard save now and

then the splash of a water- rat plunging back

into the pond or the hiss of the young owls

in their home among the ivy.

After walking round the ruin several t imes,

both inside and out, the b o y s selected for

their hiding-place a deep recess in the wall

inside the building, overg rown with ivy ,

f rom which they could see the whol e of t he

open spac e in the centre o f the ruin and also,

through a small windo w over looki ng the

pond , th e p a th by which they had c o m e f rom

Rockle igh. Concealing themselves amo ng

the ivy in this recess, they waited patie ntly

fo r the appoi nted hour.

A church c lock in the distance was just

striking half-past eleven, when tw o dark

figures cre pt sil entl y up the pa th wa y a nd

vanis hed as if by magi c into the s had ow of

the building ; five minutes la ter came another

C H A P T E R X I X . A M I D N I G H T M E E T I N G .

two and yet two more . The anarchists wereevidentl y mustering in force ; and Ron ald

began to feel rather alarmed . Thes e six

man were not all, for presently the boys

heard faint foots teps at t he oth er side of

th e ruin an d then five men ente red the en

closure and conce aled themsel ves in different

places among the shadows.

R ona l d was beginning to wonder whether

he had done right in bringing so yo ung a boy

as Bo b b i e into such a dangerous place,

when , to his horro r, he saw o ne of the me n,

who had just c o m e , making s traight for their

hiding-place. Wha t wo uld happen if the} '

were discov ered Ronald dared not imagine.

Bo b b i e , too, saw their dange r, but, being alittle " bri ck, " he bit his lips and kept quite

still, while Ro na ld too k out his revol ver and

examined the charges, signing to Bo b b i e

to do the same. Th e man walked s traight

up to the hidden recess, and, pul ling aside

the ivy , stepped i nto it close beside them.

Then he tu rned round and looked out into

the open , as if waiting for so me one. Th ou gh

the two trembling b o y s were hidd en bare ly

a yar d from where be was stand ing, he ha d

no idea they were there ; it was a mar vel

that he did not hear them breathing.

The tw o scouts knew their only chance of

safety was in keepi ng abso lute ly still. Their

legs and arms began to ache with their

cram ped position, but neither bo y dared to

m o v e by even a hair 's breadth. It seemed

a long time to wait, but at last the church

c lock struck t welve and they knew that th e

fatal hour had c o m e at l a s t ; but they c o u l d

not help wonderi ng where they wou ld be

when the next hour stru ck.

Th e echoes of the bell had barely di ed

away, when they heard the sound of foot

steps outside the ruin and presently a little

man d ressed in bla ck entered the enclosur e.

It was Luigi Costa.

He peered nervous ly round the building,

and, seeing no one, was evid entl y beginni ng

to get impa tien t, wh en anot her figure

appe ared be hind him. It was that of the

dwarf with the white hair .

Th e latter appro ached Luigi and, raising

his hat pol itel y, said " Bro ther Luigi Cos ta,

it is a long time since yo u hav e favo ure d us

w i th you r c ompa ny ."

" I came to the conclu sio n," said Luigi,

" when y ou wer e so kind as t o bring me that

le t ter in red ink, that yo u did not desire it."

" Yo u were mistaken, Broth er Co sta, "

snar led the dwar f. " W e desir e it at p resen t

more than anyt hing else in the wor ld. "

" Then you r advertiseme nt was only a

device to capture me. Yo u have nothing to

tell me abo ut the safety of my so n. "

" Yo u are quite wron g again. I have

this to tell yo u, Brother, that unless you

surrender yourself absolutely and entirely

into our hands , yo ur bo y, Paolo , will die a

m os t horrible d ea th before the sun rises."

The awful villainy of the plot burst upon

R ona l d like a clap of thunder . The anarch

ists, unabl e to find Lui gi, had capt ure dPaoloin order to d e c o y his father to his death.

Like most of us, Luigi was by nature t imid;

but, again like the rest of us, he had w ithin

himself the c apac ity of becom ing a hero ;

and at this critical mome nt, althoug h he

knew what s ort of a fate awaite d him, he

rose to the occas ion like a m an.

" I f I surrender to you," he said calmly,

" what guarantee have I that you will not

harm m y s on ? "

" Yo u hav e the wor d of the Valiant

Dic tat or, " said the dwarf. " Yo u shall

see me write the letter , which orders him to

be set at libe rty. "

"Ye s, but will it be deliver ed ? "

" Yo u shall see the messenger start with

i t ."

" But ho w am I to kn ow that he has

reached his destination ? "

" You are hard to satisfy. But see ho w

gener ous we are ! I will meet yo u eve n there.

On e of us here has a tel esco pe ; and in the

morning, if you surrender, you shall throu gh

that telescop e see you r bo y standing free

and alone on yonder hill."

" Ma y I not see him to s ay farewell ? "

Luigi asked.

" It is impossibl e."

" What wi l l you do with m e ! "

" Y o u must die the death appointed.

Y o u have failed in your task , you have

betrayed your trust, yo u have revealed our

secrets."

" I hav e do ne non e of these things. I

protest against your t r ea tmen t of me and

m y family . I am innoc ent. I have broken

no vows ; but I have been dece ived by you .

Y o u are not the sor t of peo ple I believe d

y o u to be. I protest against your syst em

of cruelty and violence . Yo u profess to

fight on behalf of libert y, while you are your

selves worse tyrants than the most selfish

capitalists. You rs is not a soci ety to reform

the worl d, yo u are nothing but a pac k of

unscru pulous crimina ls, a sec ond Camorra.

I woul d sooner die your vic tim than l ive

your ally. Yes, add one more to you r long

list of crim es by killing me, the man yo u have

basely de c e ive d ."

" Brother Luigi Costa," said the dwarf

with a moc kin g smile. " Yo u are wander

ing from the poin t. Are yo u goin g to

surrender and save you r son, or "

" I surrender ," said Lu igi, folding his

arms.

If Ronald had ever despised Luigi, he

di d so no longer now. But he felt wild

that he was so powerless to help him. Wha t

could he do ? He m igh t sh oot the dwarf

and the man w ho was hidi ng close by, but

there were abo ut a doze n others t o reckon

with ; and if any of them e scap ed to tell

the tale, Paol o woul d pro bab ly be put to

death . Yet how could he stand there and

see Luigi carried away a prisoner by the

anarchists, c ond emn ed to som e horrible

punish ment, wi thou t doin g anythi ng to save



The Son ojf an Anarchist. 515

him ? He could just see Bob bie 's pale face

amon g the ivy, and that reminded him that

if he interfered he would not only endanger

his own life and Paolo 's , but Bobbie 's also.

Bobbie , who had been listening int ently,

understood almost as well as Ronald what

was happening, and it was like his i mpet uous

nature to wish to rush out and try to rescue

Luigi, whatever the r i sk ; but he did not

realise what it might mean to Paolo .

Ronald waswondering whether it would

not be wise to let Luigi remain a prisoner

till the dwarf had taken measures for Paolo's

release, and then to try and rescue the poor

m a n ; but he doubted whether the dwarf

really intended to carry out his promise,

since Luigi was in any case at his mercy.

However , the decision was taken out of

Ronald 's hands by Bo b b i e in a most startling

manner.

Bo b b i e was full of pluck, but his nerve was

on the point of giving way and he felt he

must d o something. The leering face of

the dwarf maddened him, and, hardly

know i ng what he was doing, he levelled

his pistol at the Valiant Dictator and looked

along the barrel.

" So no w yo u are ours at last, Luigi

Costa,'' cried the dwarf with a hideous grin.

" N o w we will teach you not to tell talcs."

B a n g !

Bo b b i e had pulled the trigger and the

bullet passed through the dwarf's car, but

did him no further harm. Nevertheless he

leapt into the air with a yell and c lapped

his hand to the wounded place.

The man who was hiding within a few

feet of Bobbie 's pistol sprang out into the

open with a shout , not knowing who wa s

his ene my. Th e sho ck was as great for him

(To be continued.)

as for the dwarf, for the bullet had passed

close to his head and his face had been

actua lly scor ched by the flash fr om the pistol.

In an instant the enclosure wa s alive

with black figures, which seemed to spring

out of nothing ; Bobb ie ' s shot had evident ly

caused a panic and each man seemed to

regard the others as his foes, for, to the great

astonishment of the two b o y s , a wild fight

com m enced in the centre of the ruin.

Bang ! Bang ! Ban g ! w ent an automat ic

pistol, followed by an answering fusillade.

R ona l d was about to rush out to help

Luigi , who was still standing in the centre

looking dazed and bewildered with the

tu mu l t , when several of the me n star ted

running towards the recess where the b o y s

were, an d a vol ley of shots came patter ing

against the i vy and chipping the stone

work.

^0 ^0 ^0How TO BECOME A " WIRELESS "

OPERATOR.

A P r o f e s s i o n t h a t O f f e r s M a n y A t t r a c t i o n s .

WH A T is the most wonderful discovery

of modern times ? The answer to

that question is probably " Wireless Tele

graphy." Certainly no modern invention

has done more to revo lu

tionise science than the

on e that is so promi

nently associ ated with

t h e n a m e o f M r .

Marconi,

" I'll put a girdle

round the earth in for ty

minut es," said Shake

speare's Puck. But Puck

was no mere mort al, and

he possessed power s that

are not given to men or

women. Mr. Marconi,

however, has indeed

almost succeeded in

putt ing a girdle round

th e earth in for ty

minutes. He has girdled

th e earth with a chain

of wireless messages.

"Wire less " >s still in

its infancy, bu t it has

already achieved some

notable triumphs. B y

its agency a criminal

flying from justice was

tracked in mid-ocean,

to be arrested on his

arrival in Canada. I t

has saved many vessels

from Bhipwreck, and

there is no l imit to the

bereficent acts which it

may yet accomplish.

Before the invention

of Mr. Marconi 's system

of wireless telegraphy

it was only poss ible for

snips to communicate with each other, or

with the shore, b y means of flag signals

during the day and the Morse signal l amp

at night. No w it is confidently expected

that, within a few years, no ship will ever

By T. MICHAEL POPE.

P A R T I .

put out to sea that is not equipped with a

wireless installation.

This wonderful dis cove ry has resulted in

the rise of a new profession. I t has produced

are necessary ? W ha t is the nature of the

work ? W h a t is the scale of remuneration ?

Those and similar questions are being asked

on every hand.

Lecture and Class Room in the Liverpool School.

the Marconi opera tor, and, as th e system of

wireless telegrap hy dev elop s, so, necessarily,

will the dema nd for opera tors incr ease.

H o w , then , is on e to b e c o me a Marconi

operator ? Wh at particular qualifications

Well , in the first place, there is an age-

limit. Applic ants for service on the Marconi

opera ting staff should be between 19 and 25

years of age. A preference is generally

given to those who have been previous ly



516 The 'Boy's Otern Taper,

em pl oyed in inland or cabl e telegrap hy,

though this rule is by no mean s universal ,

an d s tudents who have been privatel y

t rained will be admi tte d, if they are able to

pupils in the s c h o o l , " writes the author ,

" seated at s loping desks, beneat h eac h of

which was a receptacle for the apparatus

used for sending and receiv ing ' pract ice '

recognised by the Compa ny by a discr imina

tion in pay. The ordinary learner receives

5s. Od. per week whilst in school , but the

railw ay telegraphist is allow ed 17.S. 6d."

Nex t wee k we will proc eed to conside r

some of the dutie s of the Marc oni opera tor

on board ship.

(To be continued.')

Portion of Instrument R o o m , sho win g three different Receiv ing Set s.

satisfy their examiners with regard to certain

tes ts .

A knowl edge of magnetis m and electricity

is essential, a nd equa lly essential is an

abili ty to send and receive words at a

mi nim um of 25 per minu te on the Mors e key

and sounder. The Com pan y also require acertificate of physi cal fitness from a do cto r.

Finally, the candidat e who has some know

ledge of foreign languages will probably

receive more favoura ble consideratio n.

There are th ree classes in the op erat ing

staff : (a) learners, (6) telegra phists , and

(c ) senior telegraphists.

If accepted, the learner is sent to the

Marconi school at Liv erpo ol for a course of

practical instruction. He has subsequently

to undergo an examin ation b y the Post

master- General, wh o issues the Gover n

ment' s certificates of com pet enc y.

While at school the learner is t rained in

the w ork of tak ing charge of a full set of

Marconi ins truments on board ship.

The fo l lowing is the syllabus of instruction at the Marconi s c h o o l :

(A) Elementa ry electricity and magnetism.

(15) Fun dame nta l prin ciples of wireless

te legraphy.

(C) Transmitting by practice buzzer sets

and rece iving by telephones as

used in wireless.

(D ) The variou s pieces and ty pes of appara

tus used, and diagrams of electrical

connections thereof.

( E) The connecting up of various parts

comprising comple te sets ; ho w to

trace and remo ve faults an d repair

breakdowns.

Rules and regulations laid dow n

b y the Radiotelegraph Convention

fo r the com merc ial working of wireless telegraphy.

(G) Clerical work in connec tion with

telegraphic account s and returns.

( H ) General routine and discipline on

board ship.

There is an in teres t ing acco unt of the

school in an article contributed to a recent

num ber of the " Rail way Clerk," and s igned

" A Morseman. " "T he re were about 25

messages. The school is fitted up with a

complete wireless ' se t ' of the app rov ed

s tandard type exactly as used on board

ship. Faul ts l ikely to o c c u r at sea are

arranged artificially, and then repaired in

the presence of the pupil . Ind eed, eve ry

facility is provided to enable the learnerto gain an intelligent gr asp of the entire

business.

" I was assured that a railway telegraphis t

of aver age intelli gence woul d require but

th ree or four weeks in the school to qualify

fo r examination, and then if i uceessf ul would

receive appoi ntme nt as second operator on

boar d ship. This special ap t i tu d e which

exper ience in railway tele graph y give s is

5n»

P U L L A T Y O U R P L U C K !

A Song: for Cricketers.

BY D. L. A. JKF1IS0N.

" Y \ rE L L

' w u a t is the matter with y o u to-day ?

* ' Why , you look like a frozen fro? !

Were y o u diddled ou t when you tried to stay ?

AVere y o u bowled when you tried to slog ?

Di d yo u miss a ' sitter ' at e xtra slip ?

Di d y o u drop one out in the ' deep ' ?

Well I whatever you've done, you've got the pip,

That's a very bau tiling to keep ! "

" Take a pull at your pluck, Sonnie!

Don' t lie down an d give up the game.

Never grouse at your luck, Sonnie !

You'll get there, my bo y, just the same 1"

" Well, what is the matter with yo u to-day ?

Di d yo u bowl suclt a rotten lengtli ?

Di d yo u plug too fast in your old, old way ?

Wa s th e pace to o much for your strength ?

No 1 you'd lost the ' devil'—you'd lost th e whip,

And th e slackers were all asleep ?

Well—whatever went wrong you've got the pip.

That's a very bad thing to keep."

" Take a pull at your pluck, Sonnie!


Never grouse at your luck, Sonnie I

You'll get there, my b oy, all the same."

" Well, whatever's the matter any day,

When yo u feel like a frozen frog,

An d there's never a sun to make your hay

An d your life is a yellow fog.

When your only light is a farthing dip,

As away to your bed you creep,

Well—it's easy to see you've got the pip,

That's a very bad thing to keep 1 "

" Take a pull at your pluck, Sonnie 1


Never grouse at your luck, Sonnie!

You'll get there, my bo y, just the same."

(F )

Portion of Instrument Room showing Complete l i - K . W .

Transmitting Set.

Set and 10-in. Coil



517

T h r o u g h A f g h a n

TH E A I -

ghan

threw a

r a p i d

j g l a n c e

i upon the

t a l l ,

black-bearded figure.

A look of amazement

passed over his face,

but when he heard

the greeting in the

Pusht oo tongue his

momentary hesi ta

tion gav e way to a

joyous confidence, and he cast himself down

on the ground at Bo b ' s feet and plac ed his

forehead in the dust .

" It is my lord," he cried, as he rose and

kissed Bob ' s han d, " it is m y lord, the sa me

brave Lari Kh an w ho led me thro ugh the

mountai n passes and alway s poin ted the way

to victo ry. Praise be to Allah , it will be a

joyous day among the Ghilzais when Abdul

the Mullah learns that his friend has returned

from the gates of death . Amr an, thou liar,

thou saidst it was his son . It is Lari K ha n

himsel f—no son , but him self, the friend of

Dost Moh amme d and Akb ar Kha n, who has

come once mo re to lead us by the ligh t of the

Diamond Star."

Al l this while Bo b s tood unm oved . He

was assured that Amra n Ali was playin g the

fool in some way , but how or for what

purpose he cou ld not divine . Maho med

Hassan appeare d to have his senses abou t

him, a l though Bo b thought that he was

acting in a rather absur d fashion. B ot h

men were clearly very much in earnest, and

Amr an Ali , as well as his friend, se eme d to

be overw helme d with delight .

The ment ion of the Dia mo nd Star m ade

B o b suspicious that the horse-dealer had

been spying up on him, and ha vin g seen th e

valuable t r inket concealed on his perso n h ad

mentioned the matter to Hassan. If that

were s o, the stranger was a splendid actor,

fo r the sentence had slipped from him in them os t natural manner .

" What mean you by the l ight of the

D i am ond Star ? " Bob said to Amran Ali .

" Lari Kh an al way s wore it in his tu rb an , "

was the answe r. "S ha h Shujah gav e it to

him in Kab ul, when Ab du l and Lari Kh an

had re turned with a sacred b o o k from Mecca .

D o s t M o h a m m e d

sworebrotherhood

t o Lari Khan upon

it , an d for years

t he t r i b e s m e n

l ooked upon them

selves as soldiers

of th e Star."

Al l th is was a

co m p le t e m ys t e r y

to B o b , for , as we

know, he had been

l e f t i n e n t i r e

ignorance of his

f a t h e r ' s e a r l i er

career, and hadnot the remot est

idea that he had

. . . been con nec ted

with Afghanistan.

But he kne w that he had a diamond star

on his own person at that moment . Cas t ing

aside his robe, he unfastened th e Star, and

held it for a mo me nt in his han d. The n

with deft fingers he pi nn ed it sec ure ly to

hi s tu rb an .

If Bo b had thought that the men were

ma d before this, he migh t have assured

himself that it was so by the i r behav i our

when they saw the Star. They danced, and

laughed, and che ered, and B o b saw that t hey

considered that the y had mad e a wonderfu l

d iscovery . Th ey were almost besid e them

selves wi th jo y. He took off his false be ard

an d flung it on the gr ou nd . His clean

shaven face s how ed that he was a lad no t

ye t out of his teen s.

" Stil l , i t is r ight , " shout ed Hassan ; "f o r

the mom en t the beard made me think i t was

m y old leader, but n ow I see that it is his

son . Ke ep the bear d, Amra n Ali , he m ust

wear it as we ride throu gh th e passes, and the

news will speed among the Ghilzais that Lari

Khan has re turned. T h e y will learn after

wards that it is his son, but the i r j o y will be

equally great , for then they will k n o w that

they must aven ge the father 's injury and at

the same t ime serve the son."

A n d no w it is tim e to ma ke the matter

clear. Ab du l the Mullah, who dwel t in the

hill fortress, had ne ver ceased to mou rn the

untim ely fate of Lari Khan , his wife and his

son . For years he thought that the Khan

had escap ed, and h ad sent messengers to al l

the tribe s, int o Ind ia, an d ev en so far as

China. To the Ghilzai merch ants and kafda,

or carav an, leaders, he had promis ed a great

reward for n ews of Lari Kh an o r of

his son.

During al l th is t ime a keen loo k-ou t had

been kept b y these men, and Amr an Ali ,

whose wander ings t o o k him far afield, hail

been dilig ent in his inqui ries. He had bee n

struck by the familiar something about B o b ' s

face which reminded him of the Kh an, and

the Pushtoo speech coming from one who

was evidently a st ranger in India, ma de a

dee p impr essi on on hi m. At first hedetermin ed to captur e the lad and carry h im

off to the North, but the many difficulties

which presented themselve s mad e him try to

gain him over into a partnership which

would finally lead him to Afgh ani sta n. He

had told Maho med Hassan the whole s tory

of the lad's wonderfu l l ikeness to Lari Kha n,

Or , Lari K h a n of the Diamond S t a r .

By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,

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

C H A P T E R VI I I . T H E D I A M O N D S T A R N E W S F R O M H E R A T .

and Hassan su ggested the simple dev ice of

the black beard.

" Let me see him , dressed and bearde d like

his fath er," said Hass an, " and I will soon

tell yo u if yo u need take an y further t rouble

with the lad. Get him to put this on when

I come . "

Amran Ali had ad ded the w ords , often

used by Lari Kha n to Ma hom ed Hassa n, the

effect of which had bee n to mak e the Ghilzai

think that the veri table Khan stood before

him, for as Bob prono unced them it seemed

as tho ugh the w ell-k nown soldier were

speaking. Tile Diam ond Star finished the

matter , for the emblem of Afghan chivalry

was so well known that it was recognised onthe instant, and among the Ghilzais every

man had seen it thou sand s of times. It

represented an Orde r o,f Afgh an chivalr y, and

was a token revered by the rough t ribesm en

everywhere.

The men explained as much as they knew

of his fathe r's st ory to B o b , and finally

suggested to him a departure on the morrow

to the hill fortress of the L or d Abdul . B ut

B o b had ma ny questions t o ask, the chief of

which was the att i tude of Abdul the Mullah

towar ds the British.

" I s he likely to be a friend or an en emy ? "

he inquire d. " Hera t is being besieged, and

the British are on the poin t of marchin g t o

its relief. I am an Engl ish lad, and mus t

serve the flag of my coun try . If the y marc h

to-morrow thro ugh the Bol an Pass I shall

voluntee r to go with them, and Abd ul the

Mullah must wai t."

Amr an Ali and Hassan had not men tioned

th e matter of the b ig reward , and this

resolve did not altogether fall in with their

desires.

" L e t the morro w bring forth the duties

of the morr ow, " said Hassan ; " much may

hap pen in a da y. If Hera t does not fall, the

great army will return to Indi a "

Wha t Mahom ed Hassan would have said

was rudely interrupted b y a c rowd of Sikh

soldiers, wh o ca me marchin g along the crest

of the nullah. A lou d voice shouted to the

men seated roun d the camp-fire to scatter,

and before Amran Ali could reply, his horses'

pickets were torn up, his camels forced totheir feet, and the fire trampled out by the

Sikhs. Am ra n Ali dre w his pistols, bu t

before he cou ld fire they were kn oc ked ou t

of his hands , and half a do ze n soldi ers flung

themse lves upo n him and held him fast.

The others were seized before they could

offer resistance.

" Dogs of the hills," shou ted a richly

dressed officer, " who gave you permission to

cam p in this place ? K n o w ye not that in

two day s a Durbar is to be held here betwee n

the Maharaj ah D hul eep Singh and t he

Governor-General , the Lord Auckla nd ? Out

with you , ye dogs, and make your kennels

farther afield ! "

He gav e so me orders to his men, an d

Amr an Ali and the rest were bundled off without ce remo ny. The Afghan was

furious, but he was obliged to submit .

T w o days later Bo b saw one of those

brilliant gathering s for whic h India has lon g

been famous. Lord Auck land , the Brit ish

Govern or-Gene ral, had arranged a t reaty with

the depose d Shah of Kab ul, Shujah-ool-



518 The 'Boy's Otvn Paper.

Moolk, who had long been a pensioner of the

British at L ood hia na, and Runj eet Singh,

Maharaja h of the Punj aub. B y this it had

been agreed to enforco a t reaty made in

1832, whic h was inte nded " to ope n the

Indu s river for navig atio n, to facilitate the

exte nsion of com me rce , and to gain for the

British nation in Central Asia that legitimate

influence which an interchange of benefits

would naturally produ ce." But a sudden,

and, it was said, unprovoked attack upon thePunjaub by Afghan troops under Dos t

Mohammed Kha n, who had succeed ed Shah

Shujah as ruler of Kabu l, had compell ed the

British to interfere. Ad de d to this, the

confederacy of Russia, Persia, and Af ghan

istan against the ruler of Herat ha d forced

the British Gov ern men t and its ally, R unje et

Singh, to take up arms to relieve the besieged

ci ty .

Lord Auckland and his advisers had come

to the conclusion that Dost Mohammed Khan

and his brothers, the chiefs of Kan daha r,

were unfitted a nd disincli ned to become

allies with Britain, and that they were

not in any way calculated to favour its

authority and interest in the importan t

cou ntr y whic h act ed as a buffer Statebetween it and the encroaching Russian

Emp ire . Th e welfare of British possessions

in the East , it was asserted, requi red upo n

the western frontier of Hindostan an ally

who was intere sted in resisting aggre ssion

and establ ishing t ranqui llit y, in the place

of tu rbulent chiefs who ranged themselve s

in subservience to a hostile Power, and

sought to promo te schemes of conqu est and

aggrandisement .

Runj eet Singh promise d to aid the enter

prise on condition that he was guaran

teed in his presen t possession s, and it was

in tended t ha t Shah Shuja h shoul d enter

Afghanistan surrounded by his own troops,

and supported against foreign interference

and factious oppositi on by the British army .

T he Governor-General confidently expectedt ha t Shah Shuja h w ould be speedi ly repl aced

upo n the throne of Ka bu l by his ow n subject s

and adherent s, a nd it was agree d t ha t so soon

as he was secured in po wer , and the inde

pendence and integrity of Afghanistan

established, the British army should be

withdrawn.

This policy calle d forth strong cri ticism

when its terms beca me kno wn to the British

people, and many able men, in India and in

Britain, predicted an awful failure if its

provisions were enforced . I t w as felt t ha t

Kandahar and Kabul could quick ly be

taken by the strong arms of Britis h soldiers ,

but to maintain a weak Shah upo n the thro ne

of a cold, strong, remote country, cro wde d

with a fierce, turbulent, and warlike peopl e,

was recogn ised by far-seeing state smen to

be an exceed ingl y difficult task. But Lord

Auckland ' s po l i cy was pushed forward by his

adviser s in India , and at the D urba r,

summo ned at Feroze pore, it was intende d to

pla ce the final seal up on it b y the Maha raja hs

an d rulers interested.

Runj eet Singh's ca mp was on the other s ide

of the river from that chosen for the Durbar .

A great multitude of tents blazing with

cr imson an d gold , and with innumer able

banners and streamers wavin g from them ,

had been pitch ed. With in them the Sikh

Sirdars and their magnif icently att ired

retainers were gathe red. All the wealth of

Lah ore , and indee d of the Sikh nation, had

been call ed upo n to furnish the Maharajah

with the outward dignity to which he considered himself enti tled . Th e Sirdars wore

their scarlet and yellow robes, blazing with

jewels, and embroidered with pearls, rubies,

and all kinds of preci ous stone s. Th e

soldiers were in dazzling white costumes,

wit h steel ca sques and shini ng cor selets of

beautifully worked chain armour. Their

horses were cove red with gorgeous housings

of silk and preci ous metal s.

This moving show of colour was rendered

even more effectiv e by the Oriental setting,

the cloud less blue sky, the stretches of red

sand, the white minarets and dome s of

Ferozepor e, and the innu merab le came ls and

elephants with their r ich embroidered

saddles and massive gilt and jewelled

howdahs .

Th e Maharaja h, an old, decrep it man, was

array ed in splendi d robes of crim son, and in

hi s tu rban there blazed the almost matchless

diam ond, the Koh -i- Noo r. He had founde d

b y his own cunning, statecraft, and pitiless

feroc i ty in battle, a vast Empire upon the

r iver Indus, and although now almost

b e y o n d any activ e physica l work, his brain

was still as stron g as eve r. Wi th a cour tly

grace he exchanged greetings with Lord

Auc kla nd, and, aided by his servant s,

desce nded from his eleph ant and entered the

huge ten t where the magnificen t gifts

presented by Britain awaited hi m.

Here were pictu res, jewe ls, horses,

elephants, and, in one apar tment, a great

stack of guns, ba yone ts, and swo rds of British manufacture. Beside them were

some field ca nn on and piles of shell . As the

ol d Maharaja h, wh o was blind in one eye,

came near them, by some mischance he

stumbl ed over the shells , and although man y

hands were stretched out to save him, he fell

prostrate before the Briti sh guns. Swift

glances were excha nged among the Sirdars,

fo r the omen was noticed by their super

stitious min ds, and man y recalled the scene

when, a few years afterw ards at Guj arat, on

the Chenab river, the Sikh army was swept

away and utterly defeated.

Amra n Ali and Mahom ed Hassan had

spent a busy morning among the Sikhs,

striving to pick up inform ation abou t t he

date of the probable advance to Herat .

A mounted messenger had come dashinginto the camp from the direction of Lahore.

He was travel-stained and wearied. He was

taken at once to the tent of the chief Sirdar.

" News from Herat ," said Amran in a

whisp er ; " we shall soon kn ow what has

happe ned. Go amo ng the soldiers of Shah

Shujah and disco ver what you can, Hassan.

Meet me at the cam p before nightfall. If

the city has fallen, Dost Mohammed will

soon be marching d own the Khy ber to

attack Peshawar and Lahore. If the city

still holds out, this arm y will march t o its

relief. Whi le if, which Allah forbid , the

army has retreated from Herat, the British

will soon be hurrying throu gh the passes to

attack Kab ul . It is time we were awa y."

Mahomed Hassan strolled away, and

Am ran Ali began to make inquiries amo ng

the soldiers gathered r ound the principal

tents. He soon beard news that made him

determine to leave Ferozepore that very

night.

The army besieging Herat had been unable

to subdue the city and had retreated. Dost

Moh amm ed Kh an and his brothers had

withdrawn all their tr ibesmen to Kabul

and Kandahar, and it was whispered that

the British army was now to be divided,

and th e main p ort ion to set off at once

along the Scinde frontier, by Shikarpore

and Dadur, to the mouth of the Bolan Pass,

thence to Quettah, and by the Kh oj ac k

Pass to Kandahar , f rom that city to

Gbuz nee, and finally to Ka bu l, where S hah

Shujah would once more be placed upon thethrone.

Piece by piece Amra n Ali and Mah omed

Hassan put their cunningly obtained

information together, and at nightfall

Bo b was told that the British army was

about to retire. He had also been m aking

inquiries among the British soldiers, and

was amused at the disgust shown by some

men of the Kent ish regiment (the 3rd Buffs),

when they had been told privately that th e

division of which they formed a part was to

retire from Ferozepore.

" Well, blow me ! " said one to his comra de,

" if this isn't a fine go ! Aft er tra mpi ng

from one end to the other of this beastly

blazing country, to be told that all the fun is

over an d that there will be no fighting !

I ' m dy ing to ha ve a go at these Pathans

among their mountai ns, and now we are to

be sent back . Th e old man is in a towering

rage, and vows that he'll chuck the Service

altogether ."

" Wha t' s up ? " said Bo b, goin g up to the

soldier.

" Hello, are you English 1 I thought you

were a nigger, with that yellow face "and

the white togge ry. Wha t's that thing in

your turban ? " He poi nte d to the

Diamond Star.

" I ' m Engli sh, right enou gh," said Bo b,

" and meant t o volunte er for the Highlanders,

if there was going to be an adva nce up on

Herat ."

" Advance be blowed ! It's goi ng to bea retreat, back to cantonments in Bengal or

some blazing dry hole. Herat is all right,

and the Persians and Russians have chucked

up the sp onge, so there's nothing for us to

do . Beastly hard lines, I call it ; you take

my advic e, sonn y, keep out of the army,

it's n othi ng but drill, drill, drill, and never a

cha nce of a bit of a scra p. Fo r two pins

I' d turn nig ger, and d o a bit of fighting o n

my o wn hook, over there in Afghanistan.

Wh at are yo u in ? "

" I ' m a horse-de aler," said B ob with a

smile ; " I 'm in partnership with an Afghan

named Amr an Ali. We sell anything, f rom

camels to br ick tea. D o yo u want anything

in m y line ? "

" I 'll desert the Buffs if you'll take me on

as a par tner in the firm. The re' s mor e to be

go t in your business than there is in ours,

and mor e chan ce of fighting. Say the word,

sonny , and yo u shall have a cou ple of the

smartest horse-stealers in India. Isn ' t

that so, Bill y ? " He h it his com rad e a

hea vy smack on the ba ck, and sh owed his

teeth in a lau gh.

Bo b nod ded and left th em. " Tha t settles

it," he thought, as he made his way through

the crowds back to his little cam p. " I t 's

n o use joi ning the Arm y no w. I ma y as

well go on with Am ran Al i and Hassan to

see Abd ul the Mulla h."

C H A P T E R I X .

BELOOCHEES OF THE BOLAN PASS.

B O B told his compa nion s what he had

lear ned fr om the me n of the 3rd Buffs.

Amran knew t ha t he had only heard part

of the move ment s of the Arm y, the retreat,

and not of the immediate advance . I t

suited them to let him remain in ignorance

of the very imp ort ant ent erprise which was

int ende d to place Shah Shujah on the t hrone

of Kabul , and thus Bo b agreed to leave

Ferozepore t ha t very night.

Amr an Ali and Maho med Hassan had

sold al l their camel s, and purchased a large

store of amm uni ti on, wh ich they had packe d

in square cases, to be slung upon the backs

of som e Persian mules —big, wiry animals,

that , if well fed wi th good barley, prove to

be of the ut mos t servi ce as draught animals .They had also bought a splendid English

rifle, which had probably been stolen from

the ten t of some officer. It bore the impri nt

of a well- known firm in Lo nd on , and was a

weapon whic h must have cost nearly a

hund red pou nds . It was sighted up to



Through Afghan Snobvs. 519

eight hundred ya rds, and appe ared to be of

excellent quali ty.

Amran Ali had bo ught i t without troubling

to ask many questions from the Bengalee who

sold it. He pac ked it carefully amo ng the

baggage, howeve r, for he thought i t would

be wiser not to show it until he got a few

hundre d miles from Fero zep ore. In this he

showed his wis dom . He meant to give it to

Bob , so tha t the lad might be well arme d.

They made a rapid journey to Shikarporc,

travelling chiefly by night, and resting and

sleepin g duri ng the hot hours ,

when the sun made the

cou ntry like a furnace. The y

rested a day

o r t w o i n

Gundava, and

then plunged

i n t o t h e

desert, which

stretched from

that place to

the mouth of the sixty-mile-long Bolan

Pass cou ld be seen. At its highest poi nt

the road was more than five thousand feet

a b o v e the sea level. It wo un d its way

thro ugh terrific gorges and ravines, for the

road was really the bed of the moun tain

torrent whic h roare d thro ugh it during the

winters, and swept the rocks aside, cleav ing

fo r itself a passage.

In some places the Pass was a mile wide,

but most frequen tly it crept throu gh gorge s

of perpendicular and most precipitous cliffs.

" H e cast himself down on the ground at Bob's feet an d placed his forehead in the dust."

(See p. 517.)

the Bola n river. It was a wilderness of

the mos t sterile desc ripti on. A few

wild-caper bushes and wit hered shrubs

formed the sole veget ation , and water

could only be procured from one or two

tiny wells. Amra n Ali knew where theseweils were situated, otherwise Bob would

have sworn that there was not a drop of

\ ater to be foun d an3'where.

After toiling for a day and a night they

reach ed Dad ur. Here the y were in sight

of the frownin g range of roug h m ount ains

wh ' c h bar the wa y to the Shawl Valley, an d

Entr ance to these gor ges was by a na rrow,

natural gatewa y, which could easily be

blocked by a boulder , and de fend ed by

half a dozen determined men. Whe n the

wind was high it swept do wn the funnel-like

ravine with a noise like thunder , and was

piercingly cold, and usually brought with

it torrents of rain. The snow, melting in

the higher ranges, for med dan ger ous

avalanches, which a strong push would hurl

down into the gorges beneath.

Narr ow sheep-paths threaded their way

along almost inaccessib le ridges, kno wn to the

tribesmen and robb ers who infested the

Pass and levied t r ibute from all kafilus

which cam e along, but unk now n to anyo ne

else. Bo b thou ght he had neve r seen so

forb idd ing a place in all his life, and more

than once he looked at Amra n Ali , and

wondered if some treachery were intende d

against himself.

It was now bitterly cold . Amran Al i

had provided himself with a heavy cloak

of Herat felt, and clot hes mad e of a clot h

manufactured in Herat called " barak."

It was warm and rain-resisting. On his

head he had a peaked head-cover drawn

over a close ca p, fitting well ov er the ears,

and ending in two thick loose ends to

wrap round his throat and chin. Hangi ng

from cor ds aro und his neck he had a pair of

huge thickly-padded gloves , into which hia

hands were thrust, but from which he

could withdraw them, in an instant, if he

want ed to use a weapo n. He wore big

Tur kom an t op- boo ts, l ined with long felt

socks. Th ey ca me nearly to the thigh, and

had long pointed heels shod with iron.

B o b and Maho med Hassan were equi pped

in the same way, and thus the fierce cold of the nights was well resisted.

Amr an Ali calculated tha t i t would take

them four da3-

s t o traverse the Pass, if

the y were no t interfered with, but he feared

tha t some of the wild Beloochees , who

infested the gorges, would have som ething

to say upon this matter.

On the sec ond night th ey ca me to a glen

which lay beneath some terraces of rock .

The river brawled along its rough bed and

leaped over the huge boulders which lay

in its cou rse . A little bac k from the road

th e cliffs were h oll owe d by a fall of several

tons of rock, and, beh ind the boulde rs,Amra n

Al i discovered a first-rate cainping-place.

It had been used very frequently, for a

large quanti ty of dried thistle stalks and

other material for making a fire was

found.

Unfor tunately, there wa s little shelter

fo r the mules and baggag e. The anima ls

had to be picketed outside, and the baggage

was piled up near the entrance to the hol low

space. It formed a barrier against the

wind, and made the circle more cosy . But

it dem and ed a consta nt supervision. A

roaring fire was soo n light ed, and cop iou s

supplie s of tea, and Afghan nanb read

war med on an iron plate, restor ed the

wayfarers to something l ike comfort .

As the darkness gr ew thicke r Bo b felt

the eeriness of the plac e, for the roari ng of

the stream, the sighing and screaming of the

wind, and the distant rumbling of dislod ged

rocks, seemed to accentua te the deso lationof the Pass. Maho med Hassan had placed

two servants on guard near the mules, but

Bo b felt sure that something out of the

ord ina ry was maki ng the animal s rest ive.

Several times he fancied that he saw a light

mo v in g abo ut amon g the rocks abo ve the

c a mp .

Amran Ali , Hassan, and Bob were

recl inin g rou nd the fire, when the y hear d

one of their sentries shout out a challenge.

Voices answered him, and i mmediat ely

afterwar ds six me n emer ged from th e

darkness and drew near to the fire. Th ey

were heavily armed, and looked as villainous

a co mpa ny as could be found any where.

Thick felt beehive hats came low down

over their faces, and they were wra ppe din cloaks of felt.

Their leader was a huge Beloo ehee,

standing some six feet three in height.

Wit ho ut a wor d he strode into the circle of

the firelight an d sat dow n op po si te Ma ho me d

Hassan. His followers would have crossed

to where Amra n Ali and B ob were seated ,



520 The Boy's Otvn Taper.

but Bo b waved them back, and poi nted to

vacant places near the ir leader.

" Kilah Ersar i greets his bro thers,"

growled the giant, as he flung back his cloak.

" It is a wild night, and trav elling is hard .

W e seek the shelter of a friend's ca mp , an d

the war mt h of his fire. M y bro the rs a re

well pro vid ed and will not grudg e us food

and rest ."

" We are t raders ," replied Hassan, " with

packs laden with poor goods , though heavy.

W e t rave l to H e ra t . Whence c o m e our

brethren ? "

" W e be men of the hill s," said Ki lah

Ersar i , whose black eyes were roving over

the packs, and glancing cov etou sly at the

weapons carrie d by B o b and his friends.

" Tha t is a gun wort hy to be born e by a

Kha n. Givu it to me that I may examine

i t . "

H e stretched ou t his hand towar ds Bob ,

whose English rifle had caught his eye.

" Nay, Ki lah," repl ied Bob, turning th e

weapon so that i t cove red the man, and

playi ng carelessly with the trig ger, " th y

brother, th oug h yo un g, is no child . He

keeps his wea pon s in his ow n han d."

"

Turn the muzzle fro m me ," laug hed thegi an t; " we be men of pea ce, and dare no t

look down the barrel of a gun like tha t . "

But his hand stole quietly to the bu t t of

his pistol . A shrill whistle sou nde d from

the oppo sit e side of the river, and almo st

before it had died aw ay anothe r whistle was

heard c lose at hand . The nex t i n s t a n t th e

c a m p bec ame the scene of a trag edy. Th e

bi g Boloochee snatc hed a pistol from his belt,

and shot Maho med Hassan dead. He fell

fo rward , his hands clutching wildly, and

sca tte red the fire.

B o b heard bullets whistling ab ou t his

ears, and saw Amr an Ali fire rap idl y at the

Beloochees and then spring up and run i nto

the darkness in the ho l low of the cliff. B o b

fo l lowed him without a moment 's delay, and

kneelin g do wn behind a roc k, fired upo n theBeloochees . Kilah Ersar i jumped high in

the air, and then lay still. The Englis h

rifle had stopped his murderous exploits

fo r ever.

B o b saw two of the Bclooehces dart ing

a w a y . He heard the servants shrieking, and

the trampling of hoofs . Shouts came from

the rock s all aro und th em, and spurts of

flame darted ou t of the darkness, and bullets

flat tened themsel ves behind him. Bo b

sho uted to Amr an to lie do wn in the shelter

of the rocks. A groan answered him.

" Are yo u hit , Amran ? " he whispered.

" B y All ah ! " was the reply , deliv ered

close at han d, " I have three bullets in my

left arm; may the curse of Shai tan light on

these false Beloochees . Ho w is it with y ou ,

Lari Kh an '! "

" I am all right, but it was a narrow sha ve.

I thought that I was chipped all over, by

the sound of the bullets in my ears. Lie

c lose , Amr an, and be ready t o resist a charge.

T h ey hav e carr ied off the mu les, and will be

trying to drag the pack s awa y nex t. Can yo u

creep out with mo, nearer to the goods , so

that we can def end the stuff ? Wh er e are

the r upee s ? "

" In the box near th e fire," sai d Am ra n ;

" I was sitting on it w he n that villain fired at

M ah o m ed Has san . Ho ld '. do no t fire!

it is the ser van ts; t hey have man age d to

escap e . "

B o b wa s on th e poi nt of firing as three

men dashed swiftly past the embers of the

lire, and darted into the shelter of the roc ks.

T h ey had slip ped fro m the Beloochees in

the darkness, and no w threw themselves

down beside Amra n and Bo b. There was

silence for a while, but the fall of rocks,

o n the oppo site side, sho wed that the i r

enemies were on the alert.

"A mr an ," sa id Bob, " w e must not li e

here. Whe n dayli ght c o m e s they will be

abl e to pic k us off if we ca nn ot find shelt er.

W e must drag the packs nearer, and build

up a barricade t hroug h whi ch we can sho ot.

N o w is the t ime, the fire is nea rly ou t.

W h e n it is absolutely dark we shall be ab le

to mana ge. W e are five, and, if wo work

quietly, can build an effective shelter.

Ha ve we plen ty of water ? "

" We have none. "

" T h e n we must ge t some or shift our

cam]) nearer the r iver."

" That would mean death for all," replied

Am ra n ; " we sho uld be betwe en two fires.

Her e we are sheltered fr om the bull ets and

rocks of those ab ov e us. Th ey can not fire

into the ho l low from over our head s, but

they can pick us off from the other side. By

Allah, we are like rats in a t rap ! "

" W e must have water, A mra n ; co l lec t

the b ucke ts, and we will slip do wn to the

river and fill them. Stop that groaning,

y o u frightened begga rs, and follow m e .

Amr an Ali will guard the c am p while we

are away."

The servants had been unne rved b y the

exper iences of the night, an d were shiveringwith fear and co ld . They were Pathans,

bu t their natural courage had given way for

a time. Bo b ' s assured ton es restored their

confidence somewhat, and they followed

him to the river, where they filled all the

buck ets with water. Then , work ing rapidl y,

they dragged the packs to the hollow" an d

made a breastwork, leaving loop holes for

the rifles. Th e boxes of ammunit i on were

placed close to their hands, the lids being

prised open.

" It is worth its weight in g o l d , " groaned

Amr an . as he saw the amm uni tion , " and

would hav e sol d like jewels in the fort of

Abdul the Mull ah. Oh, ma y curses light

u p o n these Beloochee villains. W h y must

we kill the m with prec iou s thing s ? "

" Be thankful you have it to kill them

wit h," said B ob with a laugh ; " life is worth

more than go ld or ammunit ion , Amra n."

Slowly th e dark hours wore away and

morning dawned, bringing with it mist and

rain. It was a bleak ou tlo ok . On eve ry

side were barren, harsh rocks , and a strong

torrent was swirling throu gh the river-bed.

W h en the wind rose the mists were s lowly

dissipated, and the besieged men were able

to take stock of their posit ion.

Then columns of smoke showed that

the Beloochees were in consid erable nu mbers.

T h ey arose in a wide circle, and men could

be seen sta ndi ng aro und the fires. Signals

were exc han ged from each side of the river,

and presen tly som e great bo ulder s rolled

from tho hills abo ve the camp , and crashed

down where the baggag e had been former ly.

" Luc ky for us ," said Bo b, " that wc

bro ug ht the stuff int o the ho l low. If we

had tried to def end it, w hen it was out there,

we should have been crushed to death in a

very few minutes. B o l l away, my b o y s ,y o u are only maki ng o ur defenc e better.

Y o u ' l l tire of that game before v e do . "

Th e servants had m ad e a fire, and prepa red

a meal . Amr an' s injuries were fortunately

all flesh wo un ds , the bu llets hav ing gon e

through without striking a bone . B o b

washed them carefully, and banda ged them ,

and Amran seemed quite comfortable with

his arm in a sling.

" Have a good meal, b o y s , " said Bob

with a cheerful smile ; " yo u will be b usy in

a short time, for the Beloochees will try a

rush when the sun gets higher."

{To be continued.)

THE OPENING OF THE CRICKET SEASON.

1. " What on earth is the good of putting me on to

bowl against a defence like this! " muses the Bowler.

2. " Wha t mortal batsman can stand against tail sort of attack 1 " thinks the Hatsman.



The "Boy's Otvn Club 'Room. 521

" None from his fellow starts,

But slaying manly parts,

I H A V E been dipping into a most inter

esting book of late, and something

that I saw therein answers very appropriately

a question that has been put t o mo by a

memb er of the Leagu e of Friend ship. In

a letter he asks : " Do yo u advise the ke eping

of a diary ? Is one likely to reap any benefit

from it in after years ? " Of course , a

diar y, if it is mad e a rec ord o f really useful

and varied happenings, has a distinct value,

but if it is to be me rely a su mma ry of un

important events—the " petty dust " which

each day brings, as Matthew Ar no ld puts

it—then it is quest ionab le whether a d iary

is to be rec omm end ed. There is mu ch to be

said in favour of keeping a diary if you are

constantly meeting distinguished peo ple, or

if you have opportunities for making obser

vations that will prove of interest and value

to other peopl e. But to my corre sponde nt,

" Scribbler," I would say—jud ging from

what he tells me in his very frank letter—

give up the idea and form instead a

" Commonplace Bo o k . " Listen to what

Mr. Dav id Williamson says in " Fr om

Boyhood to Manh ood , or Some Aid s to True

Success " (the book to which I have just

referred).

" Dr. Randall David son, Archb isho p of

Canterbury, once told an audience of 3'oung

people that when he was at school his master

gave each scholar a book of blank pages.

They were instructed to jot down in the

book anything they heard, read, or saw,

which they did not understand. Then they

ha d to look up the matter , and thus add to

their general knowl edge. T he Arch bis hop

Baid he had found the system an excellent

one, and it might surprise his audience to

know that he still carried such a notebook.

He advised the you ng people to ado pt the

same plan, as they wo ul d disc ove r it woul d

be a great help to the m.

* * *

" Let me emphasise the wise suggestion

given by the Archbish op," continues Mr.

Williamson.c

" The on ly way in which y ou

can beco me a well-in formed man is in solving

the puzzles which arise eve ry day in the shape

of some fact or name or word of which you

are ignorant. Unless yo u make a note of it

' t h e re an d then, ' as we say, it will escape

your memor y, and yo u will fail to learn

anything ab out it. But by writin g it in

your notebook and taking th e earliest

opport unity of consulting a dictionary,

atlas, or some other means of in formation,

And like true English heartsStock close together."

(Michael Drayton,"Agincourt.")

yo u will acquire gradua lly a large a moun t

of know ledg e . . . Once you start a

Commonplace B o o k yo u will be surprised

how interesting and indispensable it bec omes .

An y book which is worth reading will yield

yo u some quota tion for j 'our book. It does

no t matter ho w varied are the content s of

the book . On one page you may write four

lines of poe try ; a qu ota tio n fr om a trade

journal ; an amus ing an ecd ote of the Shah

of Persia ; and the date of the year when

inc ome -ta x was first levi ed. If these items

are index ed properly, y ou will be able t o

refer to any of the m with n o tro ubl e at all.

Of course, there is pro ba bly one subject in

which you are specially interested. I t may

be advisab le, in so me cases, to ke ep a note

book fo r that alone."

* * *

Here, then, is a suggestion for " Scrib bler, "

and many others in the same quan dary , totake to heart. I know plenty of people who

have kept Commonplace Bo o k s for years,

and who have got immens e satisfaction out

of them . If yo u read what Mr. Willi amso n

has to say further on the subject (his book

has just been re-issued by the Religious

Tract S ocie ty at one shilling) you will under

stand still more why I urge his excellent

advice.

* * *

This month's part of the " B. O. P. " sees

ou r annual Cricket Competi t ion s begin.

I hope that all member s of the L.O.F .,

and other s of my readers, are entering fo r

some, if not all, of the several compe titio ns.

They hav e been framed t o suit all classes

an d tastes. And while on this point, let

me draw particular attention to the novel

post card com pet iti on in whi ch the first

prize is a splen did Crick et Bat be aring the

autographs of no fewer than fifty of our

leading players. The luck y winner of this

bat will secure a treasure that he will prize

all his day s. The details of this Competi

tion are given on page 527.

Our coloured presentation plate this

mont h is a reprodu ctio n of a painting by

Mr. Arthur Twidle, showing some of the

beautiful Bird -Wi ng Butterflies of the t ropical

forests. This pla te will be vot ed, undo ubt

edly, on e of the finest e ve r issued wit h this

maga zine . In a specia l articl e in this

part th e artist gives a descriptio n of the

various butterflies and moths depicted.

I would like to mention here that th e cove r

of the next Monthly Part—that fo r Ju ly—

will give a perfect representation in colours

of some equally brilliant butterflies of the

Amazon . No one of my readers, havin g

seen this month's splendid plate, will, I

am sure, miss the opportunity of securing

this second compa nion picture.

* * *

R E S U L T O F " A N I D E A L

F R I E N D S H I P " C O M P E T I T I O N .

The very large number of essays sent in

by competi tors showed that the subject

chosen was a popu lar one . After a close

examina tion of the papers I have awarded

the Prize of Half a Guinea to

H A K R Y S H E P H A R D , 526A Kings land Ro a d ,

D al st on , N . E .

for his essay on " Th e Friend ship of John

Halifax and Phineas Fletcher," taken from

" John Halifax, Gentleman." Consolat ion

Prizes have been awarded to the fol lowing : —

T . R. S. A D A M S , Ros e Villa, The Grange,

Beccles ; A L A N H . C L E U G , 8 D u r h a m

Street, Albert Roa d, Halifax ; W. E D W A R D

G R O N O W , Upland House, Ystradow en,

Cwmllynfell, Swansea Valley, S. Wa le s;J A N E T E . A T K I N S O N , Dr a y t o n Re c t o r y ,

Ta mwo r t h , Staffs. ; F O R B E S T A Y L O R , 1 6

Armour Street, Kilmarnock, Ayrshi re ;

E R N E S T A. H I T C I I M A N , 24 3 Ba n b u r y Ro a d ,

Oxford ; E L E A N O R P O C O O K , 3 St. Stephen 's

R o ad , Ealing, W. ; R. H. J. S A R R E , N e w l y n s ,

Ro h a i s , Guernsey, C I . ; D O N A L D N E T I I E R -

W O O D , Marl Park Studio, Victoria Drive,

near C o n w a y ; C H A R L E S N E V I L L E , 1 3

Maclean St., Partick, Glasgow.

* * *

THE League of Friendship was founded last

year with a view to its forming a bond of

union between

" B.O.P." the

ideals are those

which for so

stood for all that

purest and best

out binding its

definite vows

on its supporters

manly, Christian

workers for good

to be slackers or

lookers-on. On

each member

bearinghis name

the League regis -

who desire some

tion badges have

in the shape of

or coat, watch-and tie - pins,

sale at 7d . each post free.

readers of the

world over. Its

of the paper

many years has

is highest and

in life. With-

members to any

the League calls

to lead a clean,

life, to be active

in the world, not

merely passive

being enrolled,

receives a card

and number on

ter. For those

form of recogni-

been prepared

brooches for cap

chain pendants,these being on

Applications for

membership and for badges should be ad

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

Street. London. E.C.

T H E O L D B O Y .

T H E K I N G - M A K E R ' S O A T H .

(See drawing on page 513.)

AT the batt le of Ferryb ridg e, in the Wars of the Roses

(1461), Lord Clifford led the vanguar d of the Lancas

trians and was opposed by Lord Fitzwalter with the

Yorkists . In the fight Fitzwalter was killed and Lord

Falconbridge was sent to replace him, but instead of

attacking Clifford's strong po sitio n in front, he held

them in play while he himself took a force across the

river Aire, some miles above Ferrybridge, and fell on

the rear of Clifford unexpect edly, routed his force andkilled Clifford. The Yorkists poured over the bridge,

took the town and advanced on Towton . Meanwhile,

the Bar] of Warwick, who was in command of the

Yorkist army, and who was stili excited by the tem

porary repulse at the bri dge in which Fitzwalter was

killed, called for bis horse, and in the sight of his army

killed it with his sword. Then , kissing the hilt of his

sword, he swore that he would fight on foot, and

share all the fatigue and disadvantages of the-soldiers

of th e lowest rank.



522 The "Boy's Oban Taper.

CHAPTER II. AN ARTFUL CUSTOMER.

riiHE fire was ou t ; Farm er Dy s o n and the

X zealous constable had stalked off to collar

the cul pri t; the whole line of spectators had

prompt l y followed in orde r to witnes s th e

capt ure ; and now the scouts , to o fagged to

go on with their scouti ng progra mme, had

also departe d, though two still li ngered—

Ashley and Burton.

Stuart Ashl ey had grown strangely quiet.

" Wha t' s up ? " aske d his ch um with a

puzzled air. " Wh at are yo u wait ing for ?

Come on , ma n ! "Stuart did not mo v e .

" Do yo u real ly think Ke mps te r fired that

stack ? " he sudden ly voiced .

" Well , it looks remarkab ly like it. Ever y

thing is against the ch ap . Ye s ; I shou ld

say he did it."

" W o u ld you ? I'm not so sure."

" W h y ? " querie d Bur ton in surprise.

" Don't quite see, for one thing, how he

could hav e lit the ri ck prope rly and cut off

without our spotting him," was the answer.

" There's practi cally no cover nearer than

the woodla nd yonde r, yet he coul dn't have

got into Kn o c k W o o d s ' fore we came in

sight."

" Hard ly," agreed Burt on. " But that

would apply to an yon e! A nd we saw

n o b o d y at all! "

" Yes , but wa it a second. Anot her

reason, I don' t believe Kemp st er would do

such a dirty trick. Temper he has, a

beas tly bad one if you will, but I'v e an idea

he'd draw the line at stack-firing. An y h o w, "

Ashley went on, " as there is a doubt, slight

though it ma y be, don' t you think we ought,

as scouts, to investigate;—to hunt round for

any ' si gn ' whic h might hel p matters ? "

A minute ago Harr y Burto n would have

laughe d at the idea, but after wha t he

had just heard, a sha dow of dou bt began to

cross his mind. To all appear ance Geo rge

Kempster was guilty, and yet there had been

cases where strong circumstantial evidence,

sufficient to hang a man, had upon close

examination been found to hold no water.

" Hardly think there's need for it, " he

confessed after reflecti on. " But we'll have

a shot, if you like," he added, more to satisfy

Ashley than with a thought of discove ring

anything.

I do like ! " was the pro mpt response.

" So c o me on ! "

Thus it happened tha t a long, systematic

hunt took place over th e burnt patch.

T he drought made it useless to look fo r

footpr ints , ev en th e fire-party had left no

very definite trace on the hard ground, and

it quic kly becam e increasingly evident, to

the searchers as they waded up and down an d

poked into the ashes that they had engaged

on a queerly hopeless task. Ye t, in the end,

diligence and pati ence were rewar ded, for

Ashley, steadil y focussing attention upon

the spo t wher e the fire had first be en obs er ve d,suddenly had cause to utter a sharp exclama

tion.

" Here's somethi ng, any how ," he gave

forth joyfully.

Burto n, striding ov er, found him on bended

knee examin ing a coupl e of blackened

twisted wires.

" What do you make of that , Harry ? "

he asked, turning again to the ashes.

" Looks like a roughly-made pron g,"

was the reply . " One wire's still

fixed on the other, and there's enough to

show that the upper ends once formed a

fork, thou gh I ca n't see what, "

" Exa ct ly, " cut in Ashley, holding out

his hand. " Bu t here's somet hing else,

ol d chap. See tha t ? "

"Gl as s , " muttered the other —"littl e

bits of thick glass. H ' m ! " feeling a

larger piece, "be vell ed glass, t oo ; and

roun ded, just like By gum ! " as Ash

ley ' s own con cl usi on flashed on him, " t h i s

must have been a magni fyin g lens—a burning

glass ! Faste n it to that fork arrangement,

put some mat ches and tinde r-dry grass at

the proper angle to catch the sun—and there

you are ! Wh y , at n oon on a baki ng d ay

l ike this that 'd fire an y rick ! Jo ve , Stuart,

this gets exc iti ng ! "

" It's plain enough h ow it was done ,"

said Ashley, glanci ng at the sun's posi 'io n,

" but we're not much further on. W e can

figure out n ow how the ch ap got aw ay

without being seen ; we've pre' ty well

cleared Kemps ter , I fanc y, for he's hardl y

cute enough for this—but we don't know

who did the thing. Look here, we can't

let it rest at this. Let's have another look

round ; w e may chanc e on someth ing else."

Accord ing ly the search was cont inue d and

presently Burton, as keen now as his com

panion, burst out tha t he had found some

thing. This , despi te its batte red and burnt

condit ion , was not difficult t o recognise as a

metal cuff-link, which, after scrutiny and a

rub-up, was declared to be made of gold.

A gold cuff-link found close to the other

o b je c t s ! The connection was evident.

Whoever had dropped that fastening had

fired the stac k ! Obv io usl y this disposed of

Kemps ter, for farm-labourers don' t wear

gold cuff-li nks ! So far all was plai nsai lin g,

but wh o was the culprit ? Presu mably a

well-dressed fellow, the indications pointedt o that , but why shoul d any one posing as a

gentleman at tempt to fire Mr. Dyson's

stac k-yar d ? More ove r, had not the farmer

himself insisted that Kempster had com

mitted t he deed, denoti ng from his very

manner that to no one else did he attach

the slightest suspi cion ?

" It's a regular c or ke r! " declared

Bur ton. " I can 't think of any cha p like ly

to fit into the picture. We ' v e got a clue,

but I don't see how we're to follow i t . "

Bu t if Bur ton was at a loss his leade r

wasn't. To the latter's quic k brain the

whole thing swif tly resol ved itself into a

single ques tio n : wh ich way had the ri ek-

firer gone ? Whe re woul d he make for ?

There could only be one answer—Knock

Woods , whic h lay at the.bac k of Mr. Dyson 's

farm and stretched away on both sides for a

considerable distance. Cle arly, to visit

these woods was the next move.

" But which part shall we steer for ? "

queried Burton.

" Main path," was the prompt reply.

" Wh y ? " came the next question.

" Why don't you go for this bit nearer t he

ricks ? "

" 'Co s the other road' s the quickes t cut

through the W o o d . Come on ! "

T h e y were soon among the trees, running

speedily alon g the chosen pa' h. All was

quiet and there wasn't a soul to be seen.

For a while they went thus, then of a sudden

Ashley pulled up abrupt ly. Musing upon

the cuff-link had convinced hi m that they

had t o deal wi th a visit or, not a resi dent ;

for, as Burto n had well obser ved, there was

no person living in the neighbourhood to

whom their find could point. Hence such

an one would most likely arrive by train—

he dismissed a mot or-car as i mpracti cable,

chiefly owing to the nature of the sur-



"Just a Cuff-LinK!" 523

rounding country—and, having accomplished

his purpose, head back to the stati on wh ich

wa s situated on the other side of the woods.

There were but few trains in the aft ernoon ,

an d there was just a possibility of cutt ing

off hi s retreat. Also, he mig ht have go t

lost in the deeper recesses of the woods, as

a stranger could easily do. But now

cam e a difficulty. T he y had reach ed a

spot where the path forked—one way being

a short cut to the railway, the other, a much

wider track, leading through to a lane and

so round to the station. Whi ch way had

the man gon e ?

" Straight on," was Burton's opinion.

" Yes—unless he kno ws the plac e.

Look here," said Ashley with qu ick deci sion ,

" yo u keep on. I 'll tackle this one. It gives

more cover and he may ha ve taken it for

safety's sake, even if he wasn't aware of its

being a short cut."

So saying he plunged in amon g the bushes,

but ere he had gone fa- a sudde n " Kr ee ee !

Kreeee ! " f rom Burton sent hi m boundi ng

back, presently to come upon the latter

(who, hearing a sound while running on, had

been led to take quite another direction)bend ing over the fallen figure of a yo un g

man who was evide ntly in severe pa in.

" I t 's his ankl e," explai ned Burton.

" One of these rabbit-holes—came down an

awful wha ck, he says. He's pretty well

fainted. We must do someth ing qui ck. "

" Yes ," sa id Stuart Ashle y, gr iml y eyeing

beneath the coat- slee ve a green, soft,

c rumpled , linkless sh ir t -cuff , " w e mu s t ! "

Mr. Dyson's was the nearest habi ta t ion

to the scene of the ac cid ent , and thither th e

wounded one was carr ied, to be immed iat ely

recognised by the farmer as his own nephew.

" I t 's most extraord inary," Mr. Dys on

told the scout s afterwar ds, " ho w that s c a mp

deceived me. Do yo u kn ow he eame dow n

here one night last week just as I was goi ng

off to bed and demand ed mon ey ? I hadn ' t

set eyes on hi m for years. He 'd alw ays

been rather wil d—fo nd of dress , betting and

al l that—but I saw then that he'd gone

from bad t o worse , and t hou gh I had he lped

him in the past I let him understand I could

get hi m out of no mor e troubl es. At whic h

he grew violent, high words followed, and—

well, he we nt ! Tw o days ago he wrote

expressing regret and asking my forgiveness

fo r his conduct, and saying that he wassailing for Canada the next day with a pal

of his wh o' d adv anc ed the necessar y funds.

[ T H E E N D . ]

I kn ew he' d often talked of Canada and—

well, I swallowed that letter ent i r e ly ; i t

read true—so much like the chap he was

once. Ins tead of whi ch it was a pure blin d.

Yo u r earnest effort, and what he has since

confessed, prove that he returned here in

desper atio n (he was in a pretty tight

corner) , f ired my r iek—you know how—to

emp ty the place so that he could enter th e

house while we were all at the tire an d take

what I had refused to gi ve him. Bu t a false

alarm, and a rabbit warren, resulted in a

broken ankle, and kept him from completing

his evil design."

Little more remains to bo added. Ke mp

ster was duly released, while the real culprit

received the due reward of his deeds. Re

garding the latter, it may be stated that

punishment is apparently exercis ing a

salutary effect in this quarter; fo r there ar e

those who consider that his uncle seems

disposed to give this y o u n g fellow a fresh

start when he is free again, which says a

good deal for Farmer D yso n.

As for the scouts—w ell, you ask George

Kemps te r , now reins tated in his old placeat an increased salary, what he th inks of

them !

^0 ^0

THE CANADIAN BEARS.

T h e Black , th e Br ow n, and th e Gr i zz l y in th e ir Hau nts .

IO N C E heard three Englishmen a rgu ing

in a Lo ndo n club as to wheth er " the

bear " was a dange rous c ust ome r when m etin his native haunts. The argument promise d

to be amus ing fro m the first, and after the

three combatants had worked themselves

into a condi tion of gent lem anl y fury it

transpired that not one of the m was aware

that Canada contains three distinct species

of bears, each as different from the other as

the mild-eyed gazelle and the hump -back ed

dromedary.

The mos t c o mmo n bear in Cana da is, of

course, the black bear, whos e range ext ends

entirely over the Dom ini on, exce pt for t he

barren heights of the R o c k y Mounta ins .

The black bear is, by nature, a vegetable

eater, bi s chief food consist ing of root s and

berries. As autumn comes on, and the

blueberry harvest ripens, the bears proceed

to put on flesh, and as soon as the cold comes

they are in a fit condition to stow themselves

away for their winter s leep.

' The black bear is very seldom dangerous

to man, and there are few authentic instances

on record of these animal s ope nin g a t tack

through sheer feroc ity . Suc h thin gs ha ve

been known, however , and I know of tw o

instances, one in Sask atch ewan and the

other in Ontario, where black bears actually

went out of their way in order to attack

woodsmen.

From m y own experience I should judg e

the bla ck bear as one of the mo st tim id

creatures in the Canadian forests. I have

seen little Indian boys run after a mother

and deliberately steal her cubs , while t he

terrified creature herself made no a t temp twhatever to interfere in the matter .

Duri ng the summer of 1911, after the

terrific forest fires that swept through

North ern Ontario , the bears were perh aps

as dangero us as at any tim e on r eco rd.

Every green thing in the woods had, of course,

been des tro yed by the flames, whil t mo st of

the smaller game had either perishec 1 in the

By H. MORTIMER BATTEN.

holocaust or had been driven out of the

country . The ants, too , were gone, and

thus a famine broke out among the few wildcreatures that r emained .

Direc t ly follow ing the fire, I was out on a

prospec t ing t r ip which lasted five weeks,

and during that per iod we were in the mi dst

of a country where bears were as c o m m o nas anywh ere. Al mos t every night we could

hear the hungry creatures round our tent,

nosing for scraps of meat . Some time s one

of us would waken and shout l oudly , where

upo n silence wo ul d fall for a min ute or so

when the animals wou ld start rummaging

a b o u t once more . On one occas ion , when

we left some fragme nts of fish near to our

temp orary ca mpin g groun d, I should th ink

at least a dozen of the ani mals paid us a

visit, and kept us awake by their loudgrunting and snorting.

On another occas ion I was called upo n t o

fetch some wate r from the spring near b y ,

after the fall of darkne ss, an d goin g ou t I

saw, as my ejr

es bec ame accu stom ed to thedarkness, that a bear was standi ng st ock

still under a cedar tree near by . H e re

maine d mot ionl ess while I passed h im, and

on m y return he was still there in exactly

the same at t i tude. A s soon as I entered the

tent, howe ver , he s tole awa y, evi dentl y

thin king I had not seen him.

On the same t r ip two bears followed our

The Grizzly Bear.



524 The "Boy's Olxtn Taper.

canoe fo r over a mile as we skir ted the lake

margin, as though reluctant to lose sight

of the good things we were takin g with us.

On ou r return to Porcupine City we asked

on e or two prospectors, wh o m we kno w had

been out in the bush, ho w they had f oun d

the bears. " Bla med hun gry ," was the

general reply . " H a d to keep a sharp look

out, or the y' d have been at the grub pac ks

pre t ty quick ."During their wanderings, prospectors and

forest rangers are constantly coming face

t o face with bla ck bears, but these me n take

no mor e noti ce of the ti mid creatures than

they wo uld of a rabbit—unless it happens

t o be a mothe r bear wi th her cub s, when

it is just as well to give her a wide berth.

Of cours e, a good deal depends upon the t ime

of the yea r: bears are far more likely to be

dangerous in the spring, just after they have

wakened , hungry and moros e, f rom their

winter sleep, than they are when fit and

well-fed in the au tu mn .

In countries where bears are plentif ul,

their runways come in very useful to the

woodsman, as these run ways invar iably

lead by the best and shortest ways rou nd

the hillsides. Th e bear is the mo st res tless

t r amp in all the woods (except, perhaps,

the timber w o l f ) , and what these ani mals

do not know abo ut the district s they p atrol

is likely to be of little practical val ue. In

following a bear path , however , there is

always the danger of encou nter ing a bear

trap—or , worse still, a bear snare—wh ich

will hoist one off one' s feet into mid-air

without any warning.

A very different animal from the black

bear is the griz zly of the mountain heights.

A fierce an d ter ri ble fighter, h e could by

no means be descr ibed as timi d, tho ugh

sorrowful experience has reduced him to aretiring, nocturnal hunter , cautious of man

through wisdom rather than fear. A tr oph y

of which any sportsman might be prou d, his

hunting grounds arc limited to the slopes

of th e R o c k y Mountai ns, and it is o n l y in

far-off mountain fastnesses that one now sees

the gr izz ly in his true l ight. Should you

meet him on the track it is quite likely you

will have to give up the right -of- way to hi m,

while the burn of a rifle bulle t, if it be no t

deadly ,may land the mar ksm an in dire straits.

In spite of his immense size and weight the

grizzly is capable of considerable speed,

and it has many times proved fortunate

t ha t he is not able to c l i mb trees like his

cousin, the black bear.

Closely related to the grizzl y is the co

lossal bro wn bear of the far nort h. Strange

t o note , this animal has never been classified

b y naturalists. Tho ugh far superior to the

grizzly in size and weig ht, he posses ses few

of th e la t ter ' s noble traits of characte r, and

is at heart no t only a murderer and a thief,

but also a cannib al. There are abu ndant

cases on rec ord of these large bears attac king

and killing the females of their kind in order

t o devour her cubs at their leisure.

T he ho me of the b row n bear is limited

almo st entirely to Alas ka. Here he is to

be found along the coastline, for his chief

food is fish. Very often, however, he

penetrates far inland, following the creeks,an d thus Alaska n prospec tors are constan tly

meetin g him. He is apt to flee in abject

terr or upo n feeling the sting of a rifie bullet.

T he Cin nam on is mer ely a species of black

bear, and the Sil ver-t ip a species of griz zly.

T he black bear, the grizzly and the brown

bear are the only three distinct species found

in Canada, though the animals vary in colour

in different latitudes.

Occasionally it happens that an old male

bear, b ecom ing restless and moros e, does

not hole up for the winte r. He pace s the

deserted hills through t he long months of

desolation, while his brothers and sisters

are peacefully sleeping. Should the gentle

man in quest ion be a grizzl y, the wood sma n

wh o stumbles across his trail is almost as

likely as not to wish himself out of it—and

no amo unt of persuasion will induce the

Indians to fol low th e trail of a winter grizzly,

wh o m they r egard as the s ymb ol of ferocious

hungriness.

JSP J5T*

Un d e r t h e E d g e o f

t h e E a r t h :A St or y of Th re e Ch um s and a

Star t l i ng Ques t :

By F. H. BOLTON,

Author of " In the Heart of

the Silent Sea" etc.

E C A U S E

i t w a s

W e d n e s

da y after

noon th e

L u n e -

Chester Bank

ha d closed

early, a cus

t o m which

found favour

in several

e y e s , n o t

least t hose of

Hubert Ken

nedy . But

on this par

ticular Wed-

< « ^ f ^ ' nesday there was no holiday

look upon his face, as, stick

in hand, he set fort h after dinner fo r a

stroll. It was mor e than " du mps " whic h

weighed hi m d o wn , depression sat heavy

on his hea r t : it was as th oug h his inner

life were weighted and confined.

H e mad e his way out of the t own on to

the green meads whic h skirt ed the river side.

His was the poor est of com pan y to-day—j ust

himself, and a saddened self at that . Where

the grass-land .widened above the nois y

weir he threw himself down upon the sward,

near the water's edge, and idly tappe d the

ground with his stick, his eyes rovin g uptowards the mighty aqueduct that spanned

the river not far f rom where he w-as sitting.

" Poor old Hut t ! " he mutt ered , " poor

ol d H u t t ! "

He ha d voiced almost unconsciously the

cause of his present de press ion. It was

C H A P T E R V I I T . — A S L E N D E R H O P E .

to -day no mer e selfish listlessness broug ht

on by the sense of his own uncoloured life,

and the bright er lives of his friends. It was

genuine sorrow and concern for the merry,

good-humoured lad, wh o had alw ays a

laugh and a smile for eve ryb ody , and wh o m

Ke n n e d y loved, as occasionally boys do

love each other.

H e rose after a short time of restless

cogitation. Save for a couple of you ng

fellows who had just passed him on the way

t o the boathouse hard by , there was no one

in sight, and the solitude suited his sober

mood.

" A y ! " he said, with a heavy sigh as hestrolled slowly forward, " poor ol d Hut t !

What can have become of him ? I' d give

all I have to be able to get at the bottom

of things. And poor old Morris, to o !

Wh at a selfish pig I am ! I'll warrant he's

feeling it a lot worse than I do. He didn' t

say much when he wrot e, but / k now .

Ol d Len isn't the sort to get over this kind

of thing lightly, even if he does keep his

fretting to himself, without letting folks

see too much of it."

H e wand ered aimlessly past the boat-

house and ca me to the little gate where the

railway was crossed by those who wished

t o make their way to the level of the ston e

bridge now towerin g abo ve him. Here he

turned sharply aside from the river and

crossed the shining rails. Th e cl imb upt o the canal was steep and he set himself to

it with quick earnestness. For the moment ,

at least, the action took away the listless

feeling and made his heart beat with more

energy. Bu t once out upon the towing path

and his listlessness returned upon him,

returned mor e sharply too, as, having

reached the middl e of the aque duct , he

leaned his arm up on the stone balustrade

an d looked down upon the river towards

the castle- crowned town. Only a few

weeks back they had stood there—the

loyal t r i o : only a few weeks back the

others had joked him upon his pessimistic

att i tude.

" We' l l take a vo w against the hum-

dru mmy scare, eh, Kenn edy ? "

H e seemed to hear Morris's voice even now

in his ear, followed by the light laugh of

Hut ton , wh o surely had ne ver neede d to take

upon himself any such vow. Ah, we l l !

For all three of them, humdrumminess was

being scared awa y with a vengea nce. The

pact itself had been followed on the instant

by an event which seemed a sharp satire on

the discontent toward a smoothly-running

life, so easily might it have ended in trage dy.

And again, for him had come, not a fortnight

ago, that jolly break in his days, bef ore even

the actual mon oto ny of a clerk's routine

existence had fulfilled his anti cip ati ons ;

that happy break amongst them all at

Grayle Hall, a never-to-be-forgotten holiday

which

He gulped just here, gulped hard. What

ha d come of the lad to wh o m he owed that

bright me mo ry ? The re might be worse

things than an every-day, untroubled

routi ne ! E ve n hum dr um was to be preferredt o this last terrible event . Wh at was

happen ing behi nd the veil of my st ery ?

Hut to n migh t be in direst straits. He

migh t even be dead . If only they could

know !

He looked down idly at the river and the



Under the Edge of the Earth. 525

coping on the other side of the balustrade.

Just under that coping, opposi te the very

spot where he sto od, the y had s crat ched

their names in token of the league. Th e

bridge was deserted as he stood there, an d

there was no one in sight on the river or

upon its banks. He climb ed ove r on to

the cop ing and lay again at full lengt h

thereon. More gingerly, though, this time :

the nerve which excite ment and com pan ygave on the former occasi on was wanti ng

to day , and in the loneliness and depressio n

of his' situation the height seemed more

formidable than before. Bu t as he lay aslant

the coping confidence gradually returned,

and he craned over the edge to look again

upon the eccentri cally place d initials. His

own " H. K." was the weakest of the three

sets, and he drew ou t his long -bla ded knife

to scrape the letters more deeply. Then a

revulsion of feeling came over hi m.

" No," he muttered, " I'll let it be.

That's how it was when we were all toge ther,

an d that's how it shall s top till we can

all be together agai n."

He gazed with rather misty eyes down

the course of the singing river." If wo ever a re ! " he added, wi th a

catch in his whispered sol iloqu y. " I 'd

stick the humdrum my, to have old Hu t t

safe back again."

He lay there in that curious position a

few moments longer : there were voices on

the tow-path, and he had no wish to be

observed. The place and position were alike

out of the ordi nary and he was in no m o o d

to court com men t or impertinent inquiry.

After a few mome nts, ho wever, the passers-

by had gone without di scovering him through

the open stonew ork, and he prepared to

rise. Just as he was about to raise his

head above the edge of the parapet he

started and drew back. The cl ick of a

horse's hoof upon the hard path had caught

his ear. He smiled to himself, but it was

in a bitter, half-mournful way.

" Better keep back ," he thoug ht. " /

don' t want to frighten a barge-horse, and

have Hutt ' s experience repeated."

In which frame of mind he crouched upon

the br oad stones out of sight of the anim al.

Wh e n at length he could hear that th e

creature wa s past he raised his head again

slightly and peered through the opening in

the sto newo rk. It was quite a cas ual

act io n: he had no though t of showing

himself till the barge was well awa y. Bu t

what he saw set him thinking suddenly and

wildly. For at the moment at which he

looked the man at the barge tiller came into

view,and Ken ned y recognised him instantlyas the same fellow with wh om he and the

others had come into such unpleasant contact

on the previous visit to this place.

" W e l l ! " he muttered excitedly, " that 's

a r um my coinc idence if yo u like ! "

Yet even this coinc idence , " rummy"

as he euphoniously termed it, would not have

made a tithe of the subsequent impression,

but for the man's further action . As the

vessel passed, the fellow sang out roughly to

his horse to stop, and after one or two in

effectual calls he succ eed ed in induc ing the

animal to come t o a halt. Kennedy had

not been discovere d and curi osity led him

to follow in a crouchi ng position along the

edge of the co ping some few yards behind

the barge, wh ich was now gliding gently

towards the bank at the farther end of the

bridge.

He waited a short t ime and then raised

a wary head ab ov e the t op of the parapet,

prepared to draw back on the instant if

need be. The boat had come t o a standstill

in the b roader w ater outsi de the channel of

the aqueduc t, and Kenn edy saw the man

walking, with one or tw o cautio us backw ard

glances, along the coam ing from stern to

stem, and carrying what lo oked to the boy

to be a plate of victuals in his hand.

" Somet hing' s doing, or I 'll eat my hat ! "

he muttered. " Victuals aren ' t wanted that

end, or should n't be . An d the beggar

doesn't seem over keen on being seen taking

them down there, either," he added, as theman step ped do wn over his cargo into the

well of the vessel after a final glance round,

as if to make sure of there being no one

within sight.

He slapped his leg in his excit ement .

" Thun der ! " he exclai med. " I 'll bet

it i s: I'll find out , to o ! My hat, wh at a

thing, if it did turn ou t t rumps ! "

On the instant his outlo ok had chang ed ;

the wor ld again appe ared before his eyes

in its natural col our s; for the time, at all

events , gloom was banished and the wild

zest of excitement had taken its place.

Some little distance a way, the canal took

a sharp bend before entering upon the last

stage of its channel into Lunechester tow n,

and Kennedy waited with what patience he

could c o mma n d until the barge had oncemore started upon its journey and he judged

it must be round the turning, or close to it.

Suddenly it occurred to him that th e

horse had had no driver, being guided in

its move men ts by directions growled at it

from the deck of the barge, nor had he seen

sign of any person upon the boat bey ond

the man himself. This would accou nt for

the delay whilst the latter was absent from

th e tiller. At length, after weary waiting,

and one or two cautious surveys, he saw

t he vessel was again unde r wa y; a nd a short

t ime later, b y peerin g over the to p of the

stonework, was enabled to catch sight of her

negoti ating the bend. No w was the time

fo r action.

The towing path, so far as it lay in t he

range of his vision, was deserted as he

cl imbed over the balustrade, and he was soon

free to resume his normal walking pace,

following in the wake of the vessel, which

had by this tim e passed out of his sight.

" If it sh ould onl y be ! " he solil oquise d,

excit ement gleaming in his ey e. " My

stars ! What a lucky thing I happened

to come along this way ! Poo r old H u t t ! "

Th e ide a lai d firmer h ol d on him t he

more he gave it thought, till by the time he

ha d turned the ben d he was as certain that

his friend was prisoner, " crib b'd , cabined

and confin ed," upon the boat ah ead of him

as if he had already set eyes upon his

pinioned body .

" Only, I 'm b othere d if I can see why,"

he thou ght; " there doesn' t seem enough t obe got out of it for the risk, in spit e of t he

bi g reward. An d surely no fellow could be

such a blither ing ass as to do a da ngero us

trick of this sort just because of that little

accid ent we had. Old Hu t t didn't frighten

his fool of a horse on purpo se, and it was

the silly idiot's own fault that he pitched



526 The IBoy's Otan Taper.

int o the water , a nd he surely does n't think

he's go ing to hol d hi m up to rans om and

get the pric e run u p int o thousands like a

Turkish brigand ? Besides, ho w could he

have got him there ? Well , it 's past me !

But , after all, the chief thing is that there

yott are, H u t t , my son, and it 's this child's

going to get you out of it. Ho w about

humd rummi ness no w, eh ? "

Of a cer ta in ty any slight doubts he might

possibly have had at the first as to thecorrectness of his conjectur e were quite

dissolved.

The barge made its way steadily along

past the first outskirts of the town, where

mills poured their hot and used-up waters

into the canal, dra win g therefr om a fresh,

if not over-pure, supply . Under bridges and

past large coal and timber yards , and more

mills, it kept its untiring course, and

Kennedy , now that the towing -path was no

longer deserte d, felt he cou ld come to closer

quarters without incurring suspicion. His

plan, s o far as he had an y, was to mak e sure

of the destin ation of the vessel, and then

keep an eye on her. Bey on d that, he would

seize his cha nce as bes t he cou ld. The

question that rose uppermost in his mind

was whethe r a halt wou ld bo mad e in the

vicinity of the tow n, or wheth er the barge

would pass on throug h Lunechester withou t

stopping.

" Hardhy that, I imagine," he ruminated .

" She's loaded with stone, and I bet she's

bound for Picke rton' s Yar d. Besides, that

chap isn't goin g to have to o easy a time

here. H' m ! I thoug ht as muc h."

He gave vent to the last expression under

his breath as the man in charge of the barge

hailed a loafer on the path near a bridge

unde r which the vessel was ab out to pass,

and m ad e a call upo n his aid in guid ing his

horse whilst the traffic alongsid e the wharv es

was negotiated.

" A ' m put t ing in at Pickerton's," Ke nned y

heard him call out, and straightway madehis own plans.

Nothing could be done in the full day

light, and certainly not whilst people were

abou t in any number. He woul d go hom e,

make his where abouts know n, in case of

being compell ed to be away lon ger in the

evening than he anticipa ted, and woul d

return when things were quieter to spy ou t

the land. The ques tion of assistanc e cam e

into his min d. It wa s, how eve r, he felt,

on e thing to be co nvi nce d for himself that

he had struck th e trail of his missing f riend,

but quite another—and he readil y realised

this—to be able to con vinc e an indepe ndent

party of the soundness of his conv icti ons.

He kn ew perfectly well, from' Morris's letters,

that th e police had definitely decided that

there was no justifi cation for acti on in the

case of the very man against whom his

suspicions were so strong ly roused.

" I wish old Morris were here now," he

thoug ht. " The level-heade d beggar would

be worth his weight in go ld to-n>'ght. I

wonder, is it good enough to telegraph to

Gray le Hall ? "

He threw the notion quickly aside,

however . It would never do to raise falso

h o p e s : the thought reminded him again

most po werfu lly ho w difficult his s tor y

might be to make believable to another .

" Both er it ! " he muttered , as he turned

from the canal pa th and made for the town.

" I'll see if Rob ins on' s at hom e, he's the man

fo r this jo b. An d if I can't lay hands on him.

well, I'm on for the game alone, that 's all ."But on calling at the house he found that

Robinson, a fellow-clerk with wh om he had

struck up a frien dship, was awa y for the

aftern oon, a nd the hour of his return was

quite unkn own. He thereupo n definitely

decided to act alone : after all, in a matter

requiring delicate and careful stepping, the

fewer to muddle things the better.

Braced with this philosophical reflection,

he found himself later leaning over the para

pet of the bridge near to which Picke rton's

Yard was situated. The barge was moored

against th e wharf, a plank acting as gang

wa y fro m the deck to the edge of the qua y.

Kennedy placed his arms upon the w all and

gazed idly in front of him . To all a ppe aran ce

he had stopped for a short time in the courseof an ordinary e vening stroll, and there wa s

no indicatio n of the excit ed state of his mind

to the casual passer-by.

The yard was deserted, and it soon

became evident that upon the barge itself

there were no signs of life. Undoubtedly

th e fellow in charge had taken himself off,

probab ly to an evening bout in some public-

house.

" And if he happens to come back while

I 'm on the prowl, " muttered the lad,

" the re ' l l be Old H a rry to pa}- , and no

mista ke. I' ve got to step like a cat on h ot

bricks over this little bus i nes s ! "

Thinkin g which, he forthwith p repared to

step. Twil ight was drawi ng on an d he

slippe d ove r the edg e of the wall whi ch

divided Pickerto n's Ya rd from the road,

making a direct but cautious way tow ard

the ba rge . It was only in the first act , the

slipping ove r the wall, that he was shy of

public a t tent ion ; once in the jard there

would be no one amo ngs t the casual way

farers who would be likely to pay any

attention to him—no one, unless by .an

untowar d chance the bargee himself came

upon the scene, which, thoug ht Kenn edy,

" the fates forb id ! "

On the vessel all was quiet as he walke d

with apparent carelessness towards it, and

choosing a suitable moment he boldly

slipped ove r the plank gangwa y and drop ped

into the open hold upon the cargo of stones.

Uncalled-for.

" Quite a good photo. Who is it ? "

•' My brother."

" O h , no, old chap I There must be some mistake 1

good-looking fellow I "

A t the stem there was sufficient space for

free move me nt fairly well out of sight, and

he turned eager steps to the low doorway

leading into the compar tment which, in

vessels of this kind, forms a store-room, and

sometimes even temporary stabling accom

modat ion.

A s he had anticipated, there was a padlock

fastened o n the door . He took hold of it.

but was not surprised that it did not yield

to his touch ; of course the place would beunder lock and key, and he had prepared

himself with a screw-driver against this

certa inty . He had reck oned also upo n the

possibility of his own bunch containing a

ke y which might at a pinch let him in, but

here he was disa ppoi nted : the lock wa s

ol d and clumsy, and moreover somewhat

stiff, an d non e of his keys were of the slighte st

use. He therefore turned all his though ts

to unscrewing the hasp, being all the mo re

anx ious as the light was not likely to ava il

him for long.

After a little effort he found that the first

screw was easily rem ova ble , and with

this sign of success his spirits rose. There

were four to move , and the second came

away also with compa rati ve ease. But the

third was more firmly b edd ed into the wood

work and for a lon g time resisted his strug

gles, an d w hen ho came at last to the fo urth

he began t o fear he shou ld be frustrated.

Only one screw betw een him and an ope n

door , but, with the innate contrariness of

things, a most unconv incibl e and obstinate

brute of a screw ! He wo uld have g ive n a

good deal to be free to take a large p iec e of

limest one fro m the heap behind him an d

batter the whole thing in. It was onl y the

necessity for working as quietly as possible

which kept him from dealing some well-

deserved kicks upon the door.

Te n precious minutes did that rusty bu t

loyal screw cost him. At last he stopped,

perspiration standing ou t

upo n his heate d fo rehead,and listened lest in his ex

citement he might have

failed to hear the man of

the barge returning. There

was no so und, ho wever, of

footstep or voice, and he

placed his ear to the door

itself, hoping as he rested for

a few seconds to hear some

slight sign of life within .

" H u t t ! " he whispered

hoarsely. " H u t t ! It's me,

K e n n e d y ; I 'm c oming in !"

Ther e was no answer, nor

any suspicion of movem ent,

an d he ren ewe d his fight

with that last screw, suc

ceeding at length (after a

good deal of wrench ing

with his driver to and fro)

in forcing the thing out of

the wood . Th e hasp gave,

and the door was open

to his will. He pulled it

behind him as he hastily

passed in.

" H u t t ! " he whispered

again, and his heart beat

quickly in the black dark

ness as he listened in vain

fo r any answering move

ment.

He l ighte d a p iece of

candle which he had

brou ght . Ther e were a fewpieces of wood , a rough

box , some odd lengths of

rope ; but the light of the

candle, showing him these

things gradually, had shown

at once that nowhere inThis is quite a



Under Ihe Edge of the Earth. 527

that pla ce was the lad for wh om he had run

th e risk of forc ing his way in. It was no

go : he had made a fool of himself for his

pains : and a jolly good jo b he had to ld no

on e beforehand, and raised no false hop es !

What a si l ly—

Hel lo !

The candle showed him, as he was about

t o blow it out and retire, a pile of straw in

th e farther corner of the cabin, just behindthe r ough bo x which held som e blocks of

wood . He might have passed this b y —

there was no room for anyone to bo behind

tho bo x withou t being seen—but he notic ed

that it had been pressed as thou gh s ome

on e had lain upon it lately.

He pushed across the small com par tme nt :

al l thought of wary walking and watchful

ness, lest his retreat should be cut off, was

gone . He forgot everyth ing but the obj ect

of his search for the mom ent . Ho held up

the l ight and took stock. Undo ubte dly

there had been some one or s ometh ing

ly ing there. He stooped to make further

search.

Then his blood ran cold. Behind him

was the sound of heavy footsteps. Som e

on e was crossing the ston es—w as alr ead y inthe hold—was at the d oor !

The re was a fumb ling a t the l atch : a

startled exclamation, as though the broken

lock had been discov ered. He had barely

time to rise an d blow out the light as the

door was pulled open. In the oute r twi light

he saw the man whose return he had f eared .

(To be continued.)

B I C Y C L E P R O V E R B S .

A SOFT saddle tu rneth a wa y wrath.

The novice and his saddl e are soo n

parted.

It ' s a poor cycl omete r that w o n ' t measure

double up-hill.

It's an ill wind that blows out of a

puncture in you r tyr e.

The bumped child dreads the scorcher.

It ' s the man without a cycl omet er t ha t

has ridden the greatest distance of all.

GET R E A D Y , B O Y S !

By D . L. A. JEPHSOX.

NOW is the time to get ready, boys !

To tarn out the old brown bag,To wipe down the face of your favourite bat,

With an oleaginous rag.

No w is the time to get ready, boys ITo " bianc o " the d usty pads ,

To ram in the nails in the buckskin boots,

Get ready, get ready, my lads!

No w is the time to get ready, boys !To rig up the practice net,

To roll down the lumps in the grass-grown pitch,An d pe g down the " m a t " for the wet.

No w is the time to get ready, boys 1

To practise and so improve,

To plug at new strokes with you r well-k nown " pAn d get out of the old, old groove.

No w is the time to get ready, boys !To loosen your arm once more,

To vary the flight, the pace and the spin,

With the same good length as before.

No w is the time to get ready, boys!To field with a bran new ball,

To gather it clean, though I know, full well,

It's as hard as a red-brick wall 1

No w is the time, are you ready, boys ?The curtain's about to rise

On the finest game in the whole wide world,

In whose heart real fellowship lies!

EJf j j f jJASpEClAr^

]m~{ ~ i "t-t fat*

% • '• iJ Kit,

m

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card competit ion, open to all readers of the

" B. O. P. " Fro m the fifty names inscribed

on the ba t (see the list below) select those of

th e S I X T E E N players whom you think would

constitute the best team t o represent

England against an y Australian team that

migh t be opp ose d to it. I h e sixteen players

selected are to be put down in order of merit,

that is , E L E V E N players to form the actual

team an d F I V E reserve men.

This competit i on will be decid ed am ong

ou r readers themselves by voti ng. T he

S I X T E E N players chos en will be those wh o

receive the highest num ber of vot es acco rde d

them by competitors. The P R I Z E B A T willbe awarde d to the com peti tor whos e post

card contains the list of sixte en names thus

selected, in the order in which they rank

according to the voting.

C O N D I T I O N S .

1. Each list of sixteen names only must be

written clearly on a postcard, and the compe

titor's name and address must be given th ereon.

2. The names must be placed one under theother in the order c hosen, the last five namesto be those of " reserve " men .

3 . Any player on tho list, such as Mr. F.Stanley Jackson, who is not actually taking partin present-day first-class c ric ket , is elig ible .

4. The surname only of a player n eed be given,except in the case of two players bea ring thesame name (e.g. Gunn), when the initial mustbe included.

5. One postcard list only may be sent in byeach competitor, and no list may comprise morethan sixteen names.

6. Should there be two or more postcardscontaining the winning list, the ballot will beresorted t o in making the award.

7. The Edito r's deci sion, as usual, must beregarded as final, and no correspondence can beentered into. An y infringemen t of the rules will

result in disqualification.

8. This com petiti on closes on J U L Y 14, 1913.No postcard arriving after that date can beconsidered.

A numb er of Consolatio n Prizes and " B . O . P . "certificates will be awarded to those whose listscome nearest to that of the Prize-winner.

Competitors are reminded that what is to be

aimed at is tlie best representative team selected

from the names belo w. Such a side should,

of course, include a wicket- keeper and chang e

bowlers in addition to crack batsmen and crack

bowlers.

Remember the closing day for send ingin postcards is MONDAY, JULY 14, 1913.

LIST OF rLA YER S WHOSE

P. P. Warner.E. G. Wynyar d. '

Hawke.

E. J. Radcliffe.

F. Stanley Jackson.A. H. Hornby.J. Sharp.J. T. Tyldesley.

A. C. Maclaren.Walter Brearley.H. Dean.H. D. G. Leveson-Gower.

M. 0. Bird.J. B. Hobbs.

Ernest G. Hayes.H. Strudwick.J. W. Hitch.N. A . Knox.

C. Blythe.E. W . Dillon.

P. E. Wool ley .Jas. Seymour.E. M. Sprot.0. P. Mead.J. A. Newma n.

NAMES ARE ON THE BAT.

Gilbert L. Jessop.0. B. Pry.J. W. Hearne.W . Rhodes.

D. Denton.P. It. Foster.S. P. Kin neir .

E. J. Smith.A. O. Jones.J. Irenionger.Geo. Gunn.John Gunn.H. P. Chaplin.J. Vine.

C. McGahey.

J. W. H. T. Douglas.

F. H. Gillingham.P. L. Pane.C. P. Buckenham.Len. C. Braund.John Daniell.Vernon T. Hill.S. F. Ba rnes.W. G. Quaife.S. Santall.



528 The "Boy's Oban Taper.

Our Rote Book.

A W H I T - S U N D A Y C U S T O M .

A T Shennington, a small village near Edgehill, Whit-

Sunday is popularl y known as Hay Su nday from a

curious custom which obtains there of strewing

the nav e and aisle of the ch urch wit h freshly-

mown grass on this day, to commemorat e the time

when the church was consecr ated, and by the bishop' sorders was strewn with rushes for the ceremony,

as it was not then paved .

T H E B O Y ' S D A Y IN" J A P A N .

IN Japan there is one day which is the b o y ' s own.

All ove r the cou ntry on May 5, fathers, mot hers and

Bisters decorate the house, bake sweet rice cakes

and prepare gifts—all for the boy . It is called 0

Sekku, or the b o y s ' festival. It has been handed

down as a custom for hundreds of years.

A stranger in Japan can always know when the

0 Sekku comes round because on that day the air is

full of flying-fish m ade of pap er to resem ble ca rp,

one of the co mmo nes t fish in the Mikadu' s empire.

Little b am bo o hoo ps keep the mout hs of these fishes

open, so that when the wind blows it fills the paper

bodies, and causes them to squirm and twist in lively

and lifelike fashion.

Every household that numbers a boy among

the children displays the paper fish on its flagpole,

on e fish for each son. The younge st son is representedby the biggest fish, and the paper carp are graded

according to the age of the b o y s in that household.

It is a pro ud father w ho on th e day of O Sekku can

look abo ve his ridgepole and see seven or eight paper

iish swim ming against the wi nd.

Th e Japanese sa y that the carp swims up the

rapids and over waterfalls, and that therefore it

represents strength and enduranc e. So the carp

stands for all that th e Japanese parent hopes for in

his sons.

A " S P R I N G B O K S " S O U V E N IR

ATJ, readers of the " B. O. P. " who are footballers

—and, no doubt, many others—will welcome th e

'* Souvenir of the Great Springboks' Tour, 1912-13,"

which has been issue d by The African Worlds 1,

Gresh am Buildings, Basinghall Street, E.G. The

booklet contains 32 clever cartoon portraits in colour

of membe rs of the team an d their supporters, drawn

by H. H. Playford. The cartoons have the merit

of being bot h life-like and hum orous , and the y makea c apital picture gallery of a notable collection of

footballers.

T O C O L O U R P H O T O G R A P H S .

A C C O R D IN G to a Canadian photographic journal,

prints m a y be considerably improve d, especially

portrai ts, by a judici ous application of co l o u r ; even

in the case of prints from fiat and under-exposed neg

atives a little colour will , like charity, " hide a multi

tude of sins." No knowledge of printing or drawing is

requisite, onl y a stea dy hand ; an d althou gh it is really

a process of smudging, the effect when view ed in the

natural wa y as a finished print, leaves no trace of the

" prentice hand."

Th e materials required are—two brushes, one fine

and one coarser, for using the colour as a wash ; a fe w

penny packets of aniline dyes—water-colours will not

do in this process , as they wil l not stain th e film as th e

aniline series do. The range of colo urs is rather limited,

but as the object is rather t o tint than to colour, a

smaller range will do.Magenta, pinks, and similar shades are but a question

of dilution. Viole t , blue, are the principal, then green,

brown ; the last two are not good colours, and require

mixing with other colours, or the result will be

unnatural. For medi um you will require aceti c acid

and methylated spirit. Mix a small quant i ty of each

with a crystal or two of the desired colour.

An inverted plate makes a good palette . Let it be

one shade deeper than yo u wish the finished ton e to be

when dry. Take a portrai t for instance. First, alum

all prints, not only to harden film, but it will tend to

eliminate the hypo. Squeegee the print on to glass in

th e usual manner, on to a negative glass, and while only

partially dry give th e face a wash of colour. Do not

at tempt to pick out the high lights, but give th e face

a bold stroke with a comparatively moist brush.

To avoi d patchiness, pre serve the outline as far as

possible, then do the hands. The cuffs, collar, and

frilling may be put in a harmonious colour, or left alone,

if a light dress or blouse, say mau ve (violet an d

magent a), or pale blue, and p ick out the decoration s

(if pro noun ced ) with another soft colour. When you

have made your brown to taste, touc h up the hair ;leave the furniture alone. Flowers may have the

slightest possible tints. The idea is to brighten up only

those parts that strike the eye.

When dry, if too faint, repeat process ; this generally

applies only to the face and hands. If too deep, sunning

will take it down , or moiste n with met hylat ed spirit

and soak up on blotti ng paper. Practi se on a few old

prints first. Wh en strip ped off the glass the colour

will be very soft. Mou nt in the usual manner for

glazed prints.

A . P E A R C L . — T h e halfpennies of George the Third

are worth quite a shilling each. The particulars

of the othe r coins are not enough for identification,

but surely you know that Gulielmus means Willi am?

P. B A T C H E L O R . — A Georg e the Thi rd half- crown of

1817 sells at from three to four shillings, as does alion shilling of Georg e the Fourt h.

A . JO H N S TO N . — If you cannot make the ribs yourself,

the only thing you can do is to make a working

drawing and have them done for you by some local

boat-builder or carpenter.

CIN EMA . — If you will glance at the indexes of your old

volumes you will find that we have had articles on

every subject you suggest. Y o u r queries require

much longer answers than we can give here, and you

should refer to any of the recent shilling manuals

which you can probably get where you bought the

plates.

V . BA CK ES . — Th e Ban k of England dollar of 1804 is

worth half a sovereign when in such good preserva

tion as yours appears to be. Ther e are also Bank

of England silver tokens for three shillings and

eighteenpence.

M. BLACKLOCK:.—There is no need to worry yourself;

your measurements seem about the average. Dumb

bell exercise eve ry mor ning, with light bells, will

help to devel op your chest. Re

member to do theexercises slowly

and even ly ; it is a mistake to

dash at them an d swing the arms

furiously. The " grip dumb

bells " are recommen ded

because they make the user

clench his hands t ight an d

so tauten the muscles.

J. It. S.—Wri te to our Cycling

Editor, who will give y ou

all the information you

require. The machin e re

ferred to will answer your purpo ses

admirabl y. Wale s is a hilly

count ry for touring on whee l; y ou

would find a motor -cycle better.

A L E C D U N BA R. — S e e our twelfth

volume for Gor don Stables' s tory,

" Our Hom e in the Silver West. "(* The Wire and the Wave, or

Cable-Layi ng in the Coral Seas,"

by J . Munro, is in the same

volume.

CANUCK:.—Such a description, if

short, will be very a ccept able.

Send a photo graph wi th it.

Montreal means " Mount B o y a l . "

IN Q U IRER. — If y o u must have a pet

of som e kind, why not g o in for

rabbits or squirrels ? A snake is

far less intere sting, for it is

doubtful whether any amount of

personal attention will ever really

tame one. Certain varieties of

South American and Wes t Indian

snakes to be met wi th in the

shops of dealers are very beauti

fully marke d. Snakes cost very

little to feed.

L . J . HOSE.—Your drawing is

of a 2-ore coin of Denmark.

" O.H.M.S."surchargedon Indian

stamps simpl y means " On his

Majesty 's Service." Stamps so

surcharged are not cashable at

government post-offices, hence

they are of no value to pe tty

thieves. Officers b uy these

stamps at the same rates for

ordinary stamps, but only officers of certa in grades

are allowe d to use them, and when using them they

have to write their names and official designations

in the l ower left corner of the envel opes and " On

H.M.S ." or " On Governmen t S erv ice " at the

to p of the envelope. Native states such as Mysore

have ah their official stamps carried free within thestate and no stamps are required. The y use the

" On H.M.S ." stamps only for official letters which

are to go outside the state.

W. J. V. SEARLE.—Write for list of books to F/pcott

Gill and Sons, Bazaar Buildings, D rury Lane , W.O .

B. A . K E M P T O N . — Th e recitati on entitled " Ze Bugbe e

Fee tba ll" was on page 90 of our twenty-ninth

volume.

D. MANSFIELD.—We hav e h ad quit e a doz en .seriea

of articl es on signalli ng o f all kind s and given the

Morse code in every one of them.

M. A . J.—See a doctor about your trouble and pay no

attention to so-called " certain cures ." Yo u have

to learn that nature will not be trifled with. Let

it be a lesson to you not to be so foolish again.

FRED B A N K E S . — W e have al ways been advocates of

th e " c o l d tub*' in the morning, but in your case

you must use discretion. Leav e it off while you

suffer from neuralgia.

H U R R A H !

Documents

Boys Own Paper May 17, 1913