Boys Own Paper June 21, 1913

8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper June 21, 1913

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NO . 38 . VOLUME X X X V . ] S A T U R D A Y , J U N E 2 1 , 1 9 1 3 . Price One Penny.[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]

Indian Crows attacking a Scorpion.

(Drawn by CHARLES WHYMPER.)

THE

SCORPION.

A n I n s e c t w i th F e wF r i e n d s .

riiHERE are m any kinds of scorpions, and

X one or mor e sorts are foun d in ev ery

hot count ry in the world, exce pt Ne w

Zeal and. Th e largest sco rpio ns are the great

black ones of West Africa and Southern

Indi a, bu t smaller ones are very c o m m o n

indeed all over Africa and India.

The scor pion is well kn own for its terrible

sting. Springi ng upwar ds at the end of ita

long tail is a curve d ho rny spur like a bent

thorn, and just under this th e tail ends in a

round ball which holds the poison. The

tail is ver y stron g, and when the scorpi on

is frightened or angr y it strikes with its tail

in the endeav our to pier ce the enemy 's skin

with the spur, through which the poison

passes into the wo und , muc h in the same

way as a snake' s veno m passes dow n its

g r o o v e d fang.

Alt houg h the wou nd mad e by the sting

is scarcely larger than the pr ick of a needl e,

th e result is often very serious. I do not

th in k a man has ever been killed by a

scorpion 's sting, but it is ver y pai nful ; far

more so than the sting of a wasp or hornet .

Th e pla ce swells up, and if it bo on the han dseveral day s will elapse before the sufferer

can use it a gain .

Some scorpions dig holes in the earth for

their hiding-places and nests ; other kinds

hide themselves under stones and fallen

trees. In countries where they ab oun d

, yo u are almost sure to find a few scorpions

. if you turn over a log of wo o d whi ch has lain

undis turbe d for a time . Th ey are carnivorous

(Hesh-eating) insects ; they kill and eat ever y

living creature whi ch is not to o stron g for

them, seizing their pre y with the great

pincers and striking the sting into it.

On the other hand, the sco rpion has its

enemies, these being chiefly birds. In

Ind ia the crow s eat them . In the evening

when scorpions c o me out to seek their f o o d ,the cr ows are on the wat ch, and if a scorpi on

should venture out upon bare ground, such

as the road, half a dozen crows fly down and

surr ound it. Th ey are ver y cunni ng birds

indeed, and seem to know quite well that

the ugl y black insect is dangero us, tho ugh

so small compared with themselves.

It is a ver y curious and interesting sight

to watch them killing a scor pion . One or



594 The 'Boy's Ote/n Paper.

t w o crow s walk up to it in front and prete nd

to peck at it, and while its atten tion is thus

engaged the others t ry and break it s tail.

The scorpion is cover ed with scaly ar mour,

something like a beetle's wing-case, but

much stronger, and though the crow ha s a

powerful beak, it requires man y pecks to cu t

th e tail in two. If yo u go out and frighten

the birds away before they ha ve killed the

insect, you will find tha t all the pec ks have

been aimed at the joints in the armour of

th e tail.

The scorpion strikes blind ly with his sting,

first on one side, then on the other, and ever y

moment one crow or another hops in and

gives hi m a savage peck. A t last th e tail

is disabled ; the scorpion is not killed, but

n o w there is no fear of bei ng stung , and the

crows fall upon it an d tear it to pieces. The

insect does not l ook ver y nice to eat, but the

crows seem t o enjoy their meal very much.

On l y men in hot countries who usually

g o about with bare feet, and are thus likely,

in the dark , to be stung, could feel how

terrible was Reh obo am' s threat (1 Kings xii.

11), " M y father chastised you with whips,

bu t I will chastise you with sco rpi ons ." The

insects are c o m m o n in the H o l y La nd as

they are in all warm countries, and all men

knew what it was like to be s tung by them.

W h e n moving along the ground the

scorpion always carries its tail high with t he

end curved forward. I t ha s a large number

of eyes, like the spider, to whic h, naturalists

tell us, it is related ; but in spite of its m an y

eyes it can on ly see a distance of a few inches.

Fo r this reason it always moves with its

pincers held out in front t o feel the way.

W h e n frightened or hurried it will run up

against stones or other obst acles that happen

to be in its path.

C. W .

TRIUMPHS OF CHARACTER.L e s s on s f r o m -the L iv es of S e l f - m a d e M e n .

By A. B. COOPER.

i HE heights by greatmen reached and

keptWere not attained by

sudden flight,But they, while their com

panions slept,Were toiling upward in

the night.

/ thirteen a farm hand,

at eighteen a collier, at

twenty-one a Theologica l

s tudent , at thi r ty a Pro

fessor of Theology, at forty

Principal of one of the

leading denominationalcolleges in Wales. Such

is the brief life-story of Professor Thomas

Re e s , M.A., principal of the Bala-Bangor

We l s h Congregational College.

Wh i l e working as a collier at Aberdare he

atten ded the Ebenezer Chapel in tha t town,

an d soon at t racted th e atten tion of the pasto r

and deaco ns, who invit ed him to c omme nc e

preaching. In 1890, when in his twenty-

first year , means wer e fou nd t o enable him

to commence his studies at Whit land

Grammar Schoo l . His success from this

point was meteor ic. In June, 1801, he

entered, at the head of the list, the P res by

terian College at Caermarthen. A year

later he matriculated in the University of

L o n d o n , and achie ved other scholastict r iumphs at Cardiff and Oxford . Ten years

ago Mr. Rees was appointed Professor of

Th e o l o g y at Brecon Memorial College.

Wh i l e still working at a for ge in the Grea t

Western's shops at Swindon, Alfred Owen

Will iams had some of his poems accepted

fo r a new volume of contemporary verse.

He had begun work on a farm at eight years

old. Since then he has been his own school

master , teaching himself Latin, Gr eek, an d

Fren ch. He has written an epic, " /Eneas

in Sic i ly , " and has made translations from

Horace and Ovid.

Probably many readers of this paper have

in their houses a Brinsmead piano. A n y

such will be interested to learn tha t the

maker of it, wh o died onl y a short time ago,started work as a farmer's bo y. He earned

very little, yet he manag ed t o save sufficient

to buy a few sheep. These all died of a

disease, but Mr. Brinsmea d used to say that

the saving habits he formed so early in his

life had much t o do with his getting on in

later life.

He came to Lo nd on and ope ned his first

pianoforte manufactory at Windmil l Street,

Tot ten ham Court Ro ad . His staff consis ted

of a man and a boy , the latter of w hom

eventua lly beca me his manager. No w the

great Brins mead firm have factories giving

employment to ove r four hundre d wor k

people . Many concert favourites owed to Mr.

Brinsmead a start in their professional

career. H e bore the expense of concerts

all over England in order that he might

introduce young artistes to the publ ic. Over

and ove r again, when pianists have come to

him for aid, he has said, after hearing th em

p l a y : " I t i s wicked, So-and-So, tha t y o ushould have no piano. L o o k round the

saloon an d choose the best one you can see."

F e w stonemasons would th ink that they

ha d a chance of becomi ng Prime Minister

of even the smallest state in the world, but

Mr . T o m Price, who began life as a working

stonemason in this country, became Premier

of Sou th Australia, whi ch is a country bigger

than Germa ny, thoug h, of course, not ne arly

so populous. H e raised himself b y sheer

hard work and determin ation. Whe n only

twe lve years old he saved sixpence a week

in order t o buy a second-hand coat at a

pawnbroker 's shop, so that he could go to

Sunday-school . When he did attend, many

b o y s made fun of him because the sleeves

were to o long. He dealt with these insultingb o y s in his own drastic fashion. Eve n

tually he married the prettiest girl in the

school and with her emigrated to Australia

in 1881.

Mr . Price settled in Adelaide and helped

to bui ld tho Parlia ment Hous e in which he

afterwards sat as Prime Minister. He

loved to be known simply as " Tom Price ,"

whether as Sund ay-s chool Superinte ndent in

Liverpool , or as Premier of South Australia.

He came over to England t o represent his

Colony at the Franco-British Exhibition,

and during his visit occupied the pulpit at

Whitefield's Tabernacle, where he told many

stories, and amo ng others the fo l lowing:

Once upon the road in Wales he found an old

wo ma n of ninety praying at the bankside,while a crust of bread was softening in th e

water of a spring.

" I knelt alongside her," he said, " an d I

rose from my knees a rebel. Her husban d

had died after a life of hard work, her two

sons had died in defence of the Empire,

and you left her to cadg e bread and sof ten

it in water ! "

Children never tire of hearing how D i c k

Whit tin gto n heard the bells chiming " Turn

again W hittington, thrice Mayo r of Lo ndo n, "

as he sat on t he milestone on Highgate

Hill with his pack on his back and his cat

on his lap. But this is only a fairy tale,

for the real Si r Richard Whittington was

the son of a wealthy man. But Sir Andr ew

Lusk, w ho died a few years ago at the age

of ninety-eight, was really a poor toy who

eventually be came Lor d Mayo r of London .

He was tho son of a small farmer and was

left an orphan when quite young to fight

his way to the fame and fortune which he

afterwards achieved. H e studied very

hard when he was a youth, and his speeches

were so often illustrated in later life by

quotations from the Bible that it was

evident that the Scriptu res were one of

the chief sources of his inspiration; help,

and education.

The name of Passmore Edwards is con

nected with upwards of seventy public

institutions, including twenty-five Free

Libraries and many hospitals, which he

founded during his long life of eighty-seven

years. What a legacy for the son of a work

ing carpe nter to leave to his cou ntr y ! H e

was entirely a self-made man. At a very

early age he was helping to eke out the

scanty resources of the family by hawking

the produce of the domestic garden in th e

ne ighbourhood of Blackwater, Cornwall,

where he was born.

His success was indeed a t r iumph of

character. Almo st accidental ly he was

plunged into journalism, and being a ma n

of indomitable pluck, he started three or

four little papers of his own one after the

other, and each in turn wa s a failure. Then,

in spite of all he could do, he had to make

a compo sit ion with his creditors and pay 5s.

in the £. Ye t years afterwards the first use

he made of the success which came to him

wa s to pay all his old creditors in full. Herepresented Salisbury in Parliament fo r

five years, and twice refused the honour of

knighthood, offered him first by Queen

Victor ia an d later by King E dward.

Mark Twa in will be rem embe red as much

fo r hi s character as for his books . Like

Sir Walter Scott before him, he wa s no t

content with being a writer, but aspired to

be a publisher also ; and, as in Sir Walter's

case, the venture, through no fault of his

own, wa s a failure. Mark Tw ain refused

to consi der himself freed from the responsi

bility of paying his debts by paying a small

fraction of the actual amount due and,

though the law had no hold on him, yet

his conscie nce had. Alt houg h all the money

which he had mad e through ma ny laboriousyears was gone, he set himself to pay back

every penny of the tens of thousands of

pounds he owed, andnot on ly succeeded,

bu t he also made himself a comfortable

fortune for his old age.

That was a t r iumph of genius, of course,

bu t it was also a t r iumph of chara cter, and

man y peo ple who never read his books, and

would not enjoy or understand them if

they did, will respect and love Mark Twain

fo r that splendid act of fidelity. T o

achieve his resolve he set out on a lecturing

tour th rou gh the wor ld, and for nearly ten

years lived a life of great toil and great

self-denial. When I read in the papers

some years ag o of the genial humour ist being

dubbed D.C.L. by thegreat Univers ity of Oxford , and being received by King Edward

at Windsor, I thought of the Mississippi

pilo t who used to cry " Mark Twain " as one

of the signals by which the boat dodged the

snags and shallows of the great American

river , of the lad wh o had f ough t his way by

sheer good-humoured pluck and sterling

character to a place among the Kings of Men.



595

Through AfghanSnows;

O r , L.ari K h a n of the D i a m o n d S t a r .

By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,

Author of " Sinclair of Che Scouts," " Jeffrey of tlie While Wolf Trail," etc.

CHAPTER XVI II. — THE T REACHERY OF ABDOOL RASH ED KHAN.

LARGE.

^strong

ly defend

ed house,

ad jo in in g

the resi

dence of

H y d e r K han w as

placed at B o b ' s dis

posal, an d the men

took up their posit ion

as part of the garrison

without anyone being

tho wiser. On the

opposi te side of the

square the house of A b d o o l Rashed Khan

was situated.

Bob did not wait until the sun was very

high before prese nting himself t o H y d e r

Khan. Ho found the Governor studying

somo rude maps and drawings, with an

anxious look upon his face. He was alone,

fo r Bo b had sent word that hi s coming from

the Ameer was to be kept a secret, and

Hyder Khan was awaiting his app eara nce

with some misgiving.

He had been kept in touch with all that

was transpiring at Kandahar , an d knew

that Sir Joh n Keane was no w read y t o

advance against Kabul , and that he wouldprobably attack Ghuznee on the way. N o t

that Hyder Khan feared the result of such

an attack ; for, like ev ery othe r man in th e

city, he felt suro that Ghuznee was im

pregnable. The largest of th e field pieces

with the force at Kandahar would no t be

able to batter down tho defenc es, and he

knew that the canal would make mining

almost impossible.

Every gate h ad been barricaded a n d

stopped, except the Kab ul Gate, and this

was so far hidden from the Kanda har side

that Hyder Khan felt that i ts existence as

a poss ible entrance wonld bo unknow n.

There was an abundance of all kinds of

provision, enough for a year's siege. T h e

citadel was full of ammunit ion and guns,

an d the artillery was splendi dly horsedfo r movements on the plain, as well as

admi rably placed upon the walls for defensive

purposes.

B o b felt that th e task committed to him

wa s a delicate one. A b d o o l Rashed Khan

was the kinsman of Hyd er Khan , a man of

high rank and one who enjoyed the full

confidence of the Governo r. The letter t o

Abdul the Mullah

from t ho Ameer

wa s all that B o b

ha d t o show in

proof of his own

g o o d faith, and a

wily Afghan would

be able to account

fo r i ts possession

b y himself in a

var ie ty of ways .

I t was an easy

m a t t e r f o r a n

Afghan t o steal a

l e t t e r a n d e n d eav o u r t o t rade

upon it.

B o b h ad little

* , fear that H ydi r

K han would guess

the secret of his natio nality , for use h ad

so accus tomed him t o Afgha n ways and

dress that he felt entirely at his ease.

A n d yet , unknown t o him, Hyder Khan

knew that he was English, an d in the

course of ten minutes ' conversation h a d

proved it to himself b y noting several

minute things which showed that Lari Khan

was no Afghan. But he said nothing.

B o b app roa che d the sub ject of his mission

with great care, touching very gently upon

the possibil i ty of treachery from within the

garrison. At last ho said b o l d l y , " Has my

lo rd any reason t o suspect any man who is

high in office ? One nex t t o thyself, sav,

H y d e r Khan ? "

" B y A llah, no ! " said the Governor ,

cast ing a l o o k of f ierce inquiry upon Bob.

" Have you c o m e here to hint that there is

t reachery amo ng the leaders ? "

" Yes , my lord ; and yet not I, but one

w ho ha s th e r ight t o make the inquiry.

His Highness the Ame er, as you know, stands

or falls with Ghuz nee . He kno ws this, and

he has g o o d reason t o suspect that a kins

man is already plott ing his nu n. "

H y d e r Khan found i t difficult to restrain

his rising ang er.

" T hou ar t a Feringhee, Lari Khan," he

said, with his hand up on his dagg er. "1road thy secret as m uch from thee as from

what I k n o w of thy father 's history. I t

is not wise t o suggest t o the son of D os t

M o h am m ed that a kins man of his is t rying

t o bring about his ru in ."

" T h o u hast sharp eyes, my lord," said

B o b , secret ly annoyed that Hyder Khan

had pierced his disguise ; " but i t is nothing

t o me. I am an Afg han so far as the Am ee r

is conc erne d, and desire t o serve him. I

speak plainly. I have c o m e t o warn thee

against A b d o o l Bashed Khan."

He said the name in a low tone and was

convinced by the way Hv'der Khan received

it that the Gov ern or had no idea that his

kinsman was a traitor.

Fo r a few minute s B ob was afraid that

H y d er would vent his rage upon him. H e

withdrew to near the window an d looked

out upon tho courtyard while the Afghan

recovered his comp osu re. As he stoo d thero

he saw a tall Ghazee priest walking across

the square. In a m om ent he recognised

the Mullah who had spoken t o hi m the

previous day . The pr est then walked

quickly into the house of A b d o o l Rashed.

" Is i t c o m m o n knowledge, my lord," Bob

said to Hyder Khan, " that tho Kabul Gate

is no t barricad ed ? I t seems to me that, if

the pe opl e are allo wed to pass freely in and

out, the information will soon reach the

court of Shah Shujah."

" No man passes out without a special

permit, issued by myself or A b d o o l Rashed,

and no one is allowed to enter without the

same."

" Then, m y lord, you will remember ,

doubtless, whether you signed a permit for

a Ghazee Mullah t o enter and leave tho

town ? "

" I have signed n o permit for a Mullahbelonging to the Ghazees. W h y do yo u ask,

Lari Khan ? "

" I a m watching the house across the

courtyard, yo ur Highness—it belongs t o

A b d o o l Rash ed, if my in formati on is correc t.

A Ghaze e Mullah has just entered. Can yo u

send for the officer w h o is on duty at th e

K a b u l Gate in order to learn by what means

the Mullah ente red th e tow n ? If he passed

the gate he must have had a permit . If

he did not, then there mus t be som e hidden

way into Ghuznee, and it is impor tant that

y o u should know where i t i s . "

T he Governor c lapped his hands, and

instantly some officers, fully armed, stepped

from behind a screen. Bo b smiled, for ho

knew that they had been placed there t o

see that n o harm came t o the Governor.

H y d e r Khan gave a brief order and in a

short time the officer of the gate came in.

" You passed a Ghazee Mullah into the

town an hou r ago ? " said Hyder Khan

quickly.

" No , you r Highne ss, not an hour ago . H e

entered a little before sunrise and has been

in Ghuznee since then."

" Had he a permi t ? H o w was it signed ?"

" I t was signed by A b d o o l Rashed Khan,

your Highn ess, and granted permission to

the Ghazee Reshun Lai t o enter the town

b y the Kabul Gate. I took his permit from

hi m because of the general ord er which says

that all permits mu st b e give n up on entering

an d a new one issued for leaving Ghuznee.

I have i t here ."H e pulled a parchment permit from his

belt, and handed it to the Governor.

" You have done w el l , " said Hyder Khan ;

" return to your post, and take care that no

on e passes out without a permit signed by

myself. If the Ghaze e appears wi th one

signed b y A b d o o l Khan, detain him until

y ou hear from m e . "

" Y o u r Highne ss," said Bob , when the

officer had retired, " I suggest that y ou

remove that screen before w e have a n y

further converse. I am on a mission from

tho Ameer, and will no t be treated as an

assassin. If I cannot speak without having

your officers concealed about me, I crave

your permission t o depart forthwith to

K ab u l . I am not accustomed t o suspicion

and fears of treachery."

" Forg ive me, Lari Khan ," replied the

Prince, " I am beset with spies, and by men

who would gladly secure the fall of Ghuznee

b y the assassination of its Gov ern or . I wa s

obl iged t o take precautions, but yo u need

be under no further apprehension. We can

speak as ma n t o man. I have ordered mv

men t o remain in the antech amber. No w,



596 The 'Boy's Otvn Taper.

what do vou suggest should be done about

A b d o o l Khan ? "

" I f the Gh azee is a disgui sed sp y, m y lord,

he has been long eno ugh in the to wn to

learn man y things of its secrets, an d wha t

he has not picked up for himself, Ab d o o l

Kh an can easily supp ly. If yo u think well,

a visit to his hous e mig ht be of serv ice. Send

some of your officers and men from the

cou rty ard, as thou gh they were forming

an escort for yo u. If they ride aw ay quickly

Ab d o o l Kha n will not b e apprised of their

m o v e m e n t until he hears tho sound of the

t rampl ing hoofs. He will assu me tha t y o u

are in the mi dst of yo ur men as he catch es

a hasty glimp se. In five minutes' t ime go

over with about fifty t rusty men, and enter

Ab d o o l ' s r o o m. You wi l l take him by

surprise, my lord, and the Gh azee will

p r o b a b ly be found in close consul ta t ion

wi th him."

" Co me with me, Lari Kha n, and see the

pla y for your self. Dres s as on e of m y

officers, a cloak and another turban will do

al l tha t is needed, or rem ove the di amo nd

star ."

" The Ghaze e kn ows me, my lord, but I

have not c o me unprovided wi th disguise .

T h y brother Akbar Khan could tell thee

tha t I look well when b earde d, for he has

seen me . Thi s will give the Ghazee no clue

t o me, if he remembers the young officer

who spoke to him in the Ghazees' camp."

W h i le he was sayi ng this, Bo b had re

m o v e d th e star from his turban, and donned

his black beard.

" Come, my l or d, " he said with a smile ;

" we will soon find ou t ho w far Ab d o o l

Bas hed Kh an is to be t rusted."

T h e Gov ern or gav e a few orders to his

officers, and soldiers were quietly stat ioned

at conve nien t distances arou nd Ab d o o l

Bas hed 's house. The y remained ou t of

sight, but near enou gh to rush in on the

slightest alarm. The n Hy de r Kha n andB o b entered the dwelling.

Brushing past the sentinels and servants,

with smiles and wor ds of greeting, the

Governor walked swift ly to the audience

r o o m . It was emp ty . Th ey entered the

pr ivate r o o m of Ab d o o l , and found him

absorbed in the stu dy of a nu mb er of plans,

which were spread be fore him on a large

table .

" Y o u will f ind tha t these are all correct,

Resh un La i," he said, witho ut raising his

head ; " the horses and camels , five thousand

in number, are in this place which 1 have

marke d. The guns are as I hav e sta ted—"

Suddenly he started and l o o k e d u p .

Hyder Khan and an officer were bowing and

smiling befor e him . Fo r an instant a look it apprehen sion passed over his face and he

glanced aroun d, as thou gh medit ating a

f light. Then his native cunn ing reasserted

itself, and he greeted the Governor with a

smile.

" I thoug ht I was speaking to the Nai b

,dep uty ) Resh un Lai. I hav e been exam in

ing our stores and guns in order to report

to yo u, my lord. I t is necessary to hav e

ever ythi ng in perfect order against the

adv an ce of the Feringhees. I f ind many

mistakes in arrangeme nt, and will give orders

to-day to have them rectified."

H e spoke in a quiet tone, but all the while

he seemed like a man who is on the alert t o

catch the sl ightest sound.

" Wh ere is Naib Reshu n Lai ? " said

Hyder Khan, seating himself carelessly on

the divan.

" He left me to obtain some further

inform ation. If yo ur Highnes s will take

cha rge of these plan s, I will seek h im ."

H e pushed the documen ts towards the

Governor . It was a bold stroke, for his

perfect will ingness to hide noth ing di d a

good deal to stifle the suspicion which was

in Hyd er Khan's mind.

" Give me the documents, Ab d o o l . Y o u

need not seek the Naib. I hav e heard this

morn ing impo rtan t news from the ca mp

of the Ghazees. They have determined t o

remain o utside Ghuz nee, and will assist the

outp osts an d skirmishers in driving back

the Feringhe es. Has this officer of thine,

Resh un Lai, bee n outsi de lately ? "

" N a y , my lord, 'hi s dut ies have been

within the city . He may have gone outside

to inspect the outer defen ces, but y ou can

learn this from the officer at the Kabul

Ga t e . "

" It is no matter ," replied the Gov erno r,

" the officer will not report until to-morrow-

morni ng. My thou ght w-as tha t if the Nai b

Re sh un La i is a reliable man, he might con

vey a letter from me to the Ghazee Mullahs

instru cting th em what to do in case the arm y

of Shah Shujah c o me s into sight along the

plains from Kan daha r. Wh en he returns

send him to me, and I will give him the

letter. Ma y Allah bless thee ! "

H e rose , and after a form al farewell,

Hy der Kh an and Bo b left the palace, l i e

t o o k the docum ents wi th him, and examined

the m carefully. The y dealt with various

i mpor t an t matters, the amo unt of forage,

provisions, horses, and ca mels ; the po sit ion

of the big guns, the metho ds ado pte d to

barri cade the gates , and th e positi ons of the

Afghan t roops within the citadel .

" W h a t t h i nk you , L a ri Kh an ? I s this

trea cher y or carefulness ? dec eit or pre

cau tio n ? Ther e is noth ing here to indicate

tha t Ab d o o l is a traitor, and 1 consider

tha t these doc ume nts are a proof of his

c o n s ta n c y . "

" Why did he lie, then, when he said that

Reshun Lai had not been outside the city,

and why was he relieved when you said that

th e officer at the gate wou ld not repor t until

t o - mo r r o w ? Ha s he an officer of the nam eof Res hu n La!, m y lord ? "

" I can soon find out, Lari Kh an ."

H e touched a gong and a chamberlain

entered the r o o m.

" Send the Sirdar Ahmed to me."

T h e man saluted and withdrew, and

presently a dist inguishe d-looking soldier

c a me in. He was richly dressed.

" Yo u kno w the household retainers of

his Highness Ab d o o l Rash ed Khan , S i rdar ;

has he a man amo ng them n amed Resh un

L a i? "

" Ye s, my lor d, he is a Nai b, and entrusted

with the oversig ht of the hou sehol d stores

and equip ment . He is a useful man and

an honest ."

" Thanks, Sirdar, that will do . I s allwell in the city ? "

" W e are prepared at every point , you r

Highness ."

When the Sirdar had with drawn , the

Governor turned, with a smile, to Bob.

" Well , Lari Khan, al l is clear, you see."

" Perfectly, my lord, ei ther Resh un Lai

g a v e his pass to a Ghazee, or he disguised

himself as a Ghazee Mullah, and entered

Ghuzn ee without being recogni sed by the

officer at the gate . But one thing is ver y

clear, some one entered Ghuznee under that

name, dressed as a Ghazee, and went a bou t

the city, and finally to the house of Ab d o o l

K h a n , where very impor tant informat ion

regarding the defences and muniti ons of

Ghuzn ee was discussed and comm itte d t o

writ ing. I have only one counsel to offer,

your Highness, an d that is to arrest Ab d o o l

Khan to day, and send him under escort to

K a b u l . Doc ume nts may be copied with the

greate st ease, and we do not know what

further informati on was obtai ned and

writ ten down. Concer ning the man wh o

used the passport of Reshun Lai, I believe

him to be neither an Af ghan of Ghuz nee no r

a Ghazee, but a spy in the pay of Shah

Shuja h, a nd if he is allo wed to escape , yo u

had better block up the Ka bu l Gate, the

only vulnerable spot in the city, without

a moment ' s delay."

" By Allah, Lari Khan , thou art yo ung in

thy wisd om, and in thy quick decision. Such

action wo uld raise a storm within Gh uznee

which would be as bad as an attack f romthe Feringhees. Ab d o o l Kh an is a m an

of high authorit y, an d his followers ar e

ma ny . If I put ou t my hand to do him

harm they wo uld rise."

" Let the m," said Bo b, " but draw their

sting first. Arrest Ab d o o l Khan and send

him oil , at once , unde r a guard of faithful

men to Kabu l . Say that the Ameer requires

his servic es in the capita l. D o it qui ckly

and all ow him no spe ech with a ny of" his

followers. Then surround t hem and tel l

them plainly that you will either have their

full allegiance in the city or march them out

to the camp of the Ghazees. Give th e

Mullahs there a hint that the tribesmen of

Ab d o o l Kh an are sniffing at treachery, and

make the Ghazees responsible for their

future good behaviour . Ab d o o l Khan is

a traitor, my lord, and already grave mischief

is a f o o t . "

S U F F U Z H l l i J H

C H A P T E R X I X .

THE ADVANCE ON GHUZNEE.

Y D E R K H A N wa s

impressed by the

freedom of Bob's

speech, but could

not make up his

mind what to do .

H e decided to

awai t further de

ve lopments . T he

Sirdar Ahmedentered to re

quest the signa

ture of the Gover

no r to a few

passports which

woidd enable

some of his

officers to go

outside the city.

" Sign nothing, my lord," whispered Bob,

" until yo u see the men. An d for to-day ,

send word that no one is to be allowed bey on d

the gate ."

"T here a r e five, your Highness," said

the Sirdar, " all to officers of my o wn Ressala

( t roop) . I guarantee them and here are the

duties they are enga ged upon : Suffuz Kh an ,to inspect the wall near the Kand aha r Gate ;

Moostung Khan and Khooloom Khan to

visi t the outposts towards Kelat-i-Ghilzai;

Khalsa Khan and Akbar Khan to inspect ,

the broken bridges and canals ."

Hyd er Kb an signed the passports, and

the Sirdar continued, " I have given orders,

m y lord, that no one is to be allowed outside

the cit y, unless his passport bears the sig

nature of the Gove rno r. Th at will close

the gate to every name but thine own."

T h e officers saluted and withdrew, and

B o b saw them cross the court yard o n their

way to the barracks. We need only fol low

on e of the m, Suffuz Kh an . He passed

beh ind the house of Abdool Khan and

halted for a moment to exchange greetings

with a Sirdar, w ho lounged in a summe r-

hou se in the garden , sippi ng tea. Bo th

officers star ted and rose as Abdool Rashed

emerged from the palace. With a graciou s

smile he saluted them .

" On dut y, Suffuz Kh an ? " he said.

" Yes , my lord , outside the city , to inspect

the Kanda har Ga te. My passport is signed

[by



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

Captain (afterwards Sir) William Dampier was the first Engli shman to reach the shores of Austr alia . In 1688 , with a company ot buccaneers in tho shirw Bachelor , BehgU ; and Cygnet, he cruised along the west coast from Shark Bay to Dampier's Archipelago. It was durinAws voyage L W Iopportunity of witnessing a native throwing the boomerang, being the first European to see and describe this pocuUar weapon 1 ° Dampier had an

(Drawn for the " Bog's Own Paper " by A. B. HORSE.)



593 The Boy's Otvn Taper.

by the Governo r. I t is ordered that no

othe r signature will avai l. "

" A n d rightl y, Suffuz Kh an ; Ghu znee is

only weak at the point of the Ka bu l Gate,

and it is well to kee p the secret. W i l l y ou

drin k tea wit h us ? "

A servant entered, bearing several cups

of the fragrant bever age. Suffuz Khan

a c c e p te d the hospitality with thanks , and

sat opposite Ab d o o l Khan, leisurely sipping

the tea. A few dro ps of colo urless liquidhad been dropped into his cup by Ab d o o l ,

and, al most before he knew what was

happening, Suffuz Khan began to be drowsy

and was soon fast asleep. Whe n he awo ke

two hours later, he jumped to his feet in

alarm and hurried away to his quarters.

Hi s g r o o m was p aci ng to and fro, with his

horse, wondering what was keeping his

master. Suffuz Kha n clim bed ra ther lan

guidly into the saddle and trotted thro ugh

the streets toward the Kabu l Gate. He

was challenged, and the officer on duty

dema nded his passport.

T h e Kha n, whose mind by this time had

become clear, felt for his permit . His wallet

was empty, and search as he might, Suffuz

Khan could not discove r the passport. The

officer wat ched his grow ing confus ion with

a smile which was rather sickly.

" I could have told thee tha t the passport

was not with thee, Suffuz Kha n. It was

pres ented a t the Gate an hou r ag o by a ma n

disguised as a camel-d river , who whispe red

that his name was Suffuz Khan and that he

was detac hed for impo rta nt du ty at th e

Kand ahar Gat e. I have the permit here.

Hi s face wa s covered , but I recognised the

harness of the horse he was lead ing. It

was thine own . My orders were strict to

al low no man through the gate unless Hyder

Khan 's name was on tho permi t. I passed

the man be cause I tho ught tha t you were

on som e dut y which required a disguise.

N o w I see that I was decei ved, and tha t you

had lost the passp ort o r allo wed it to besto len ."

Suffuz Kha n broke into a to r ren t of

invec t ives and pulled his horse round, and

gal loped back to the citadel . He rushed t o

tho highest watch- tower , and gazed anxi ous ly

across the plain. A b o u t a mile from th e

Kanda har Ga te he saw a hors eman spurring

furiously in the direction of Kelat-i-Ghilza'.

W ith a fierce set face the Khan hurried to

have an interview with the Governor.

" My lord," said he, when he stood before

Hy d e r Kha n, " I have been fooled, and thy

passport has been stolen f rom me by a man

who has alread y got thro ugh the gate, and

is now crossing the plain to Kel at ."

" Fo o l e d ? " roared out Hyder Kh an.

" B y w h o m ? "

" I kno w not, m y lord, but I crav e per

mission to pursue the villain. Wi th twent y

horsemen , if I may , but alon e, if tho u canst

not spare the men. 0 my lord, I have served

thee faithfully for ma ny years, and never a

stain has fallen upon my name until now .

Give me the men, or by Allah, I will plunge

my knife into my own heart. I cannot bear

the di sgrace. I beseech thee, my lord, let

me fol low the ma n ! "

His distress was so acute that the soldierly

heart of Hyde r Khan was touched.

W ith twenty eager followers Suffuz Khan

hurried thro ugh the Kabu l Gate and gall oped

off across the plain. For some eight miles

they rushed without drawing rein, but on

roaehi ng a crest of the hills, the y beh eld a

long array of armed men marching along.As far as the eye could see, the co lumn s were

t o be discerned, horse, foot , and artillery.

It was the vangua rd of Shah Shujah's arm y,

and, in unbr oken ranks, the tro ops of the

British Gover nme nt also pressed stea dily

across the plain.

Ther e were no signs of the fugiti ve.

Suffuz Khan gave a groan of despair, a nd

tu rn ing roun d, he and his tr oop hurried back

t o Ghuzne e. Meanwhi le the watchers on the

t o we r repor ted the com ing of the enemy ,

and the cit y prepar ed for the contes t which

was now imminent. Hyd er Khan though t

tha t poss ibly the arm y woul d march straight

fo r Kab ul, leaving Ghuzne e to be dealt with

later, but B ob told him that he mig ht mak e

up his mind for an a t tack ." I kno w the British, my lord, " he said;

" they will not allow the strongest city in

Afghanistan to act as a menace in the rear.

K a b u l depe nds upon Ghu znee, for it is the

last cit y on the march to the capital. If you

can st op Shah Shu jah here, it will be of un

t o l d service to Dost Mohamm ed. If you

cann ot, Kab ul will bo att acked within less

than a month ."

H e woul d have said more, but t he soun d

of hurrying footsteps made him pause.

Suffuz Kha n stood at the door of the au dience

cha mber . A glance at his face showed

H y d e r K ha n tha t th e pursuit of the fugitive

had been unsuccessful.

" Well , Suffuz Khan , yo u have failed,

because the Feringhees are in sight of

Ghuznee , and the man who passed thro ugh

the Kabul Gate has found refuge in their

ranks. Thou hast allow ed thyself to be

fooled. Le t thy co ndu ct in days to c o me

s h o w thy sor row. I say no mor e. Suffuz

Kha n, thou art a brav e and faithful man,

and the best may have a fall ."

" My lord Hyder ," suggested Bo b, in a

l ow to ne, " wou ld it not be well to ask

s o me questions respecting the t r ap which

deceived Suffuz Kh an ? "

H y d e r Kha n nodded and tu rned to the

officer. " Wh en yo u left m y palace this

morning , Suffuz Kh an , wha t did yo u do ? "

" I crossed the cour tyar d behind my lord

A b d o o l Rashed Khan 's house, and stayed

fo r a moment to drink tea with his Highness.

I mus t hav e fallen aslee p, for it was tw ohours la ter than I thou ght wh en I reache d

the barracks where my g r o o m was waiting

with my horse . I was struck with wonde r

wh e n he told me tha t he had waited for

more than tw o hours. My head was hea vy,

but I leaped into the saddle and rode

straight to the Kabul Gat e."

" Call the Sirdar Ahm ed ," said Hy der

Kh an , " an d let fifty m en go with hi m t o

the palace of Abdoo l Khan . Let his Highness

be brought here under close guard. We

mus t find out what is bene ath this story .

Awa i t their return, Suffuz Khan."

In a few minutes an officer returned an d

reported tha t Ab d o o l Kh an was not in his

pa lace . Search was being made through all

th e r o o ms , but his servants rep orted that

the Khan had not been seen for some time.

Messengers were at once despatched through

the ci ty to disc over if Ab d o o l was on du ty

anywhere . When Ahme d returned he

carri ed the dr ess of a Ghaz ee flung over his

arm.

B o b recognised it immediately. It was

that of the tall Mul lah wh o ha d flourished

the blood -sta ined knife. A few torn papers

were dis cover ed in one of the p ock ets ; on

one was written tw o word s of a name, Mohu n

Lai . This was the nam e of a well-known

Moonshee or secretary in the employ of Shah

Shujah.

Wha t had happ ened was this: Moh un Lai

had left the British at Kanda har an d st ruck

across country in order to meet the Ghazees

near Kabu l. He was dressed as a Ghazeepriest, and march ed with the mo b to Ghuzne e

where Bob had encou nter ed him. Ab d o o l

Khan had sent him the passport of his

officer Resh un Lai and with this the Ghazee

had entered the cit y and ma de a comp let e

surv ey of the interior.

Ab d o o l Kha n had given him all the

informati on he required abou t the gates

and barricad es, and Mohun Lai had written

out the docu ment s. But the visit of the

Go v e r n o r had upset their plans, and Abdoo l

Khan was quick to take the alarm. He

determined to fly f rom the city and join

the approach ing army of Shah Shujah.

B y drug ging the tea of Suffuz Kh an.

Ab d o o l easily obtai ned the passport, and

disguising himself as a camel-m an, andobtaining some horse equipment from th e

stabl es of Suffuz Khan , he safely passed

out of the Kab ul Gate. Mohun Lai changed

his dress and h id in one of the smaller house s

of the city, passing as an Afghan soldier.

At that moment he was sleeping quietly in

a dark r o o m hid den at th e end of a gloomy

passage. He had arranged with Abdoo l

Khan to signal from the Kandahar or Kabi>)

Gate when the mo men t was ripe for an

assault.

Sir Joh n Kea nc , by a rema rkable over

sight, or a still more astonishing confidence,

ha d left his hea vie r field-guns at Ka nd ah ar ,

and his army ha d marched to Ghuznee with

nothing larger than nine- and si x-pounders.

W h e n Ab d o o l Khan dashed furiously up

th e slope, purs ued at a lon g dist ance by

Suffuz Kha n, he was surround ed by the

British cavalry, and taken at once to the

Commander- in-chief . The promised success

of the subtle M ohu n Lai was now within

the hand of Sir Joh n K eane, and Abdoo l

Kha n was received with great cheering.

Major Thom son and the officers of the

Engineers were called to a conference, and

it was revealed by the Afghan that all the

gates were blocked with the e xcep tion of

the great Kabu l Gate. At night, Major

T h o m s o n slipped away, and after a clever

piece of scout ing discover ed all he required

t o kno w ab out the gate whic h was the only

vulnerable spot in the defence. At day

break the skirmishers were sent out to

clear awa y the Afghan outpos ts. A brisk three hours' engagement resulted, and con

siderable damage was done by the firing of

the heavy guns in the citadel of Ghuznee.

At length the Afghans retreated upon the

hills where the Ghazees were encamped,

and Peter Nicolson with the cavalry, and

Outram with the infantry, were orde red to

th e a t tack . The Ghazees were not back

ward in accepting battle, and with their

sacr ed green ban ner flying, an d y ellin g and

shrieking in mad defiance, the3> came

rushing d o wn the slop es and flung th em

selves, hacking and stabbing furiously,

upon Outram's infantry.

T h e y might as easily have beaten down

a granite cliff. Out ram flung his men into

a square, which bristled with bayonet s, and

the Ghazees found themselves foiled on every

hand. Th ey broke into confusion, and at

that moment Peter Nicolson hurled his

cava lry forwa rd, and cut them to pieces.

T h e y retreated to the hills, and hor se an d

foot followed with the vengef ul celerity of

tigers. Outra m captured the banner and

some fifty priso ners, and in a few minut es

the Ghazees had been entirely swept away .

Th e prison ers were sent to Shah Shujah,

an d Nicolson and Out ram le d the army in

the direct ion of the heights between the

Ka b u l and Kand aha r roads. The rough

soldiers of the Shah, cursi ng the Gha zees

and striking them with the butts of their

jezails, led the prisoner s into the presen ce of

Shujah an d his princ ipal officers.

At the sig ht of the Shah t he fury of theGhazees burst out afresh. T hey cursed

hi m for a false Mohammedan and as a

disgrace t o their faith, an d one of them

whipped out a conce aled knife and st abbed

an officer who stood near. Instantly Shah

Shujah orde red them to be put to death.



Through Afghan SnoKets. 599

Wi t h true Afghan ferocity the unhapp y men

were at tacked from eve ry side, and literally

hacked to pieces by the infuriated soldiers.

Th at the y were helpless and una rme d on ly

a d d e d to the satisfaction of the murderers,

a n d no t a man escaped the terrible fate.

Again the t ragody of Eutteh K h a n was

enacted, and once moro Shah Shujah was

drawing a pitiless vengeance upon his own

head.

That night the sun went down in a fierysullen glow . Black clouds swept up, and

fierce gusts of wind, with heavy rain, beat

upon the encamped army and the ci ty of

Ghuznee. As time passed the night grew

blacker, and not a star cou ld be discerned.

A t midnight the storm was at its height .

A ll the British guns were drawn up facing

the Kandahar side of Ghuznee, and the

gunners, shielding the i r am m uni t i on from

th e rain, lay beside the i r nine-pounders .

Behind them a c r o wd of infantry was

massed. On the K abu l r oad a t m i dn i gh t

a strong column of stormers assembled.

The main b o d y was under Brig adier Sale

and consi sted of th e 2nd , the 13th, an d 1 7th

Queen 's Regiments , and the Eas t India

Company 's European Regimen t . ColonelDennie led the 13th Ligh t Infantry , while

T h o m so n of the Ben gal Enginee rs, with his

t w o subalterns, M a c L e o d and Durand, and

Captain Peat of the B o m b a y corps, was

entrusted with the dangerous mission of

blowing in th e Kabul Gate .

[To be continued,)

A night more favourable cou ld not have

fallen to the lot of an y enterprise, an d bette r

or more determined s tormers cou ld n ot

have been obta ined, the wide wor ld over .

A t th ree in the morning everything was

in readiness. The blustering wind and

thick darkn ess ma de soun d a n d sight

impossible, even to the keenest sentinels,

and Ghuznee lay in perfect and absolute

stillness.

Sudden l y a light was flashed from thecitadel . I t was answered by the crash of

al l the Brit ish guns, and the defenders of

the ci ty a wok e to the fact that a heavy

a t t a c k was being dev elo ped on the Kand aha r

side. T h e walls became crowded with

exci ted Afghans .

^0 ^0 ^0

SOME FIELD EVENTS AND HOW TO

WIN THEM.

By F. A. M. WEBSTER, L.A.C.

(English Amateur Javelin-throwing Champion, 1011; Hon. Secretary, Amateur Field Events Association),

rpHE greatest ambit ion of eve r y schoo l-

J_ b oy is surely to become an In ter

national, and most b o y s can tell just who

played for England in the last test m at ch

and probably what each individual pla yer 's

score was ; and ye t I wonder how ma ny

boys could say offhand just wha t the

Olympic Games are, what events are in-

Javelin-throwing.

' (P. A. M. Webster, L.A.O., Champion 1011.)

I.—Preparing to throw.

eluded in the Olympian programme, who

wo n these event s, and wh at were the ti mes,

the distances thrown or the heights jumpe d.

A s m y space is l imited, I will content

myself by saying that the Olympian Games

were founded more than 700 years bef ore

Christ and contin ued in an almost u nbr oke n

sequence until A . D . 394, when the y were

finally abolished and were no t resu med unti l

the ye ar 1895, when the first of tho Mode rn

Olympiads was held at Athens .

The Olympic programme includes al l the

usual runnin g and walking eve nts, and in

addit ion many that are know n as field

events. As it is in these events that Britain

is al l behind her Continental and American

rivals, I hope to interest every s c h o o l b o y

in the land in them ; fo r it is to the schoo l

boys of to-day that we look to retr ieve at

I . JAVELI N A N D DISCUS THROW I NG.

Berlin in 1916 the laurels w e lost at St ock

ho lm last year .

The field events which are inc luded in

the Olympian programme , and wi th which it

is the p urpose of these articles to deal , arc

as f o l l o w s :

120 Yards (High 3 ft . 6 in.) Hurdle R a c e .

22 0 Y ar ds ( L ow 3 f t .) Hurdle R a c e .

Runnin g High Jump .

Running Broad Jum p.

Standing High Jump.

Standing Broad Jump.Pole J u m p .

H o p , Step and J ump .

Thr owi ng the Jav elin (held in the middle) ,

best hand.

Throwing the Ja veli n (held in the middle) .

right and left han d.

Thr owin g the Disc us (free styl e), right and

left hand.

Throwi ng the Discus (free style), best hand.

Putt ing the Shot, best ha nd.

Throwing the H am m er .

THROW I NG T H E J A V E L I N .

The javelin is a spear with a shaft of

ash shod with a steel-pointed head, thewhole 8.1 ft . long and weighing 1J lbs.

A b o u t the cent re of gravi ty is a gr ip

fo rmed b y a binding of whipcord , by which

the javelin must be held when m akin g the

t h r ow .

The run before making the t h r ow is

absolutely unlimited, bu t is m ade from

behind a scratch -line. This line mus t not

be overstepped or the throw will not count .

A lso , the head of tho javelin must strike

the ground first for it to be a fair throw, and

as the t h r ow is measured perpendicularly

from the po i n t at which the javelin first

strikes the ground to the scratch-line or the

scratch-l ine produced, it will be readily

unders tood tha t the ath lete in making

his throw must throw the w eapon straight

to the front and not al low it to break

aw ay in cither direction from the side of

the hand.

N o w , as to the detai ls . The throwe r t a ke s

up his posi t ion some 20 yards behind the

scratch- line with the javel in level with the

eyes and parallel to the grou nd. The b o d y

is turned s ideways to the direction in which

the run forward is to be made, the left foo t

advanced. The b o d y is allow cd to sink ba ck

over the b ent righ t kne e, an d the throw ing

arm falls back to its fullest extent . T h e

left arm is extended forward.

T h i s is repeated several t imes unti l the

m o m e n t u m is ga t he r ed ; then, as the b o d y

Javel in- throwing.

II.—The body has jus t been swi ng back at the end

of the run, preparatory to making the throw.

rises from the l eaning-back pos i t ion and

the javelin c o me s level with the face, a

swift hard run forward is taken, until the

thrower is abou t 10 feet from the s t op -

board which marks the scratch-l ine ; then

the left foo t is j a b b e d down hard , th e body-

swings rou nd and bac k from the hips and

at the same time the arm is swung behind

to its fullest extent .

The ath lete brings hi s b o d y up and for

ward, relying on the mom en tu m and swing-

up of the b o d y for the principal fo rce

employed , on ly using the a rm to g ive the

final polish t the stroke. The impetus of

the throw will car ry the thrower forward

t o the stop- boar d, which must not on a ny

accoun t be ove r s t epped unti l the w eapon

has touched earth, or the t h r ow will be

rendered invalid.



600 The Hoy's Otvn Taper.

TH E DISCUS.

Th e discus is a circular imp lem ent of

w o o d bou nd about the edge with a smoo th

ring of metal and capped on either face with

a smo ot h brass plat e ; it is 8.7 inche s in

diam eter an d weigh s 4.4 lb. ; th e th ro w is

m ade from a c ircle 8 feet 2J in che s in

DIRECTION

OF THROW

ing ar m flashes ou t, a nd the dis cus is sent

scal ing on its flight, whi le th e feet are in

position as in fig. 4.

The beg inne r sho uld not at first a t temp t

to try the turn, but should throw from a

standing posit ion only, until he has learn ed

to ma ke th e missile "' sca le, " that is. to flv

C I R C L E F R O M W H I C H

D I S C U S I S T H R O W N

diam eter ; and fo r a throw to coun t, it m ust

fall within a 90° secto r.

The thrower takes up his posi tion at the

back of the circle with the left should er

turned in thedirection in

w h i c h th e

throw is to

b e m a d e

(fig. 1), the

discus rest

ing on th e

palm of the

out stretched

right hand,

The throw

ing ar m is

swung back-

Fi a. 1. wards and

f o r w a r d s

across the b o d y , the hand being t u rne d over

as the rapidi ty of the swin g increases until

the back of the hand is uppe rmost and the

discus is on ly maintained in posit io n by

centrifugal fo rce .

When it is felt that sufficient momentum

has been attained the rapid waltzing glide

a c r o s s t h e

circle is made ;

or , to deal with

it more fully,

t h e t hr ow er

pivots on the

left f o o t an d

the right foot

passes to the

position shown

in fig. 2. Th en

th e a t h l e t e

pivots againon the left

foo t , passing

a c r o s s t h e

circle with a sm oo th glidin g spring (it mu st

not be a ho p up into tho air). Th o feet

must be kep t as close to the ground as

possible, or the rhy thm of the action will

be br oken ,

c o m i n g

finally to th e

p o s i t i o n

s h o w n i n

fig. 3. F r o m

this posi t ion

the left foo t

again acts as

a pivot and atthis point the

m a x i m u m

amount of

speed should

FIG . 3 . h a v e b e en

attained . A s

the right shoulder c o me s forward tho throw -

Discus- throwing.

(Yvr. E. B. Henderson, English Champion1911 and 1912.)

The above series of pictures shews the athletein the act of commencing the throw ami makingthe turn.

[Photos, by the Warwick Trading Co.

flat. This is do ne by givin g it a rotar y

m ovem en t as it leave s the hand. As the

first jo in ts of th e fingers are pas se d over th eedge of the discus it will be realised tha t

such a spin will be impa rted as the y are

pulled off f rom right to left. T he grea t

thing is to wor k at the standi ng thr ow,

until y o u feel yo u hav e got someth ing to

pull at.

It is a c o m m o n error that , with so light an

Fm. 4 .

imp lem ent , the main effort is cont ribu ted by

the arm, whereas the proficient athlete

r e l i e s f a r

more on the

rapidity of

t h e t u r n ,

leaving th e

arm t o ac

complish th e

final sw oep .

IN ote :—

W h e r e the

foo t is show n

dotted in the

diagrams, i t

is in the air.

A s p e c i a l

youth's discus

has recently been made by Messrs. Spald ing

and ado pte d by the Pu blic Schools Athletic

League, U.S .A. It is some what smaller a nd

lighter than tho regulation disc us and is, I

believe, supplied for about 15«. ]

{'To be continued.)

"SMITH."

By D. L. A. jEi'USON'.

" OMITI I Minor's go t a, duck ! "

O " Poor old Smith I what sickening luck,

Just .is we wore, going strong ;

Mow the rest will not be lo ng -

Hallo ! there's our last man out!

How those idiots cheer and shout!

Only sixty-live to get?

Seems to me they've got us set.

Bother that confounded lob.

That's the ball that did the job.

Just the rottenest kind of luck

Has Smith."

" Smith Minor's got his cap ! '*

" Good old .Smith ! a ripping chap,Ou^ht to have had it long ago,

As a held he's worth a show ;

Why 1 that last left-handed catch

Pulled us out, and won the match.

Made a duck ? well, what of t hat,

It doesn't prove he cannot bat,—

Broke a foot, the one he had.

Go t his cap ? I'm jolly g lad,

He's an awfully decent chap

Is Smith."

THE RIGHT SORT.By W. J. HAWK tcs, M.A,

IHAVE seen him at footer, when all has gone wrong,

An d his side is fa st losing tho game ;

Although it is clear there's no victory here,

He plays hard till the end all the same.

I have seen him at cricket,—his wicket is down,

His score is a three or a four,

Ye t he'll cheerfully stay in the field all the day

While the others run up a large score.

'Tis the same when he's boxing,—you give him a rap,

Hard enough to bring tears to his eyes;

If you think you have done, and the match you have

won,

Well, he'll give you a nasty surprise!

I rind him the same, be it hockey or golf,

Yo u never will hear him complain;

He will play while he can and will lose like a man,'

When he's beaten he'll try once again.

'Tis the same with his business ; when troubles appear,

And his work seems t o go all awry ;

He is cheerful and bright and puts up a good fight,

Whatever his failings he'll try 1

If ever I fell upon evil myself,

An d wanted a friend at a pinch,

The one I should choose and should never refuse,

Is the fellow who lights every inch.



601

Under the Edge of

the Earth :A S t o r y o f T h r e e C h u m s a n d a

S tar t l in g Q u e s t .

By F. H. BOLTON,

Author of " In the Heart of

the Silent Sea," etc.

HE Michaelmas term

at school opened in

gloom for Leonard

M o r r i s . O f t h e

" T r i p l e A l l i a n c e "

only he was left, and

tho mysterious and

distressing circum

stances under which

one of the tri o was

gono weighed upon

him with tremendous

pressure. Naturally

th e wholo school felt

in more or less de

gree the shadow castb y tho disappear

ance of o ne of their

number, and that

one a lad so univer

s a l l y p o p u l a r a s

Dennis Hutto n. For

the first da y or tw o

even the small fry

talked in groups

about tho absent

Sixth-form scholar ,

lling each other many li tt le stories of Hut -

n's generous bearing towards themselves :

ow once ho had saved a youngster from

e hands of the to wn bullies wh o had wa y

id him on the canal towing-path near

e s c h o o l ; ho w on another occasion ho

d found Ta ylo r Tertius in tears because

s tip of half a sovere ign had been lost ,

hereupon he had, with liberalit y unhear d

and unthinkable, prompt ly handed tho

mall boy a couple of half-crowns f rom his

wn poc ket , and had ev en bid him come

ter on for another couple . Al l this

d more they recalled on first coming

gether again, an dn ot o ne had the whisper

aught that might be evil against their

issing comr ade. As for Morris, with a

eak in his voice ho had tried hard t o

ntrol, he begged the Head to leave him in

le possessio n for the term of wha t ha d been

e joint study of himself and Hut ton .

" W e can' t believe he won' t over be back,r; it 's unthinkable t o me, at any rate,

d if only his place could be kep t for him— "

He stopped from sheer inability to go on ,

d the Hea d conse nted. He kne w his bo y.

orris was of tho type that might be trusted

t to brood morbidly in his solitary room ;

d the loneliness of such lads is a thing to

spect. But there is no denying that th o

st fe w weeks of that term were tho

ost sorrowful Leonard had ever known.

had been arranged that ho should

snd tho week-ends at Burnbrae. Mrs.

utton had begged for it, Phyllis had

ded her pleading to that of her mot her,

d Mr. Hutt on had willingly agreed,

ttling things with the conse nt of Leonard 's

latives and the Head.

For some time after t he recei pt of tha t

signed and mystical note things had

ven no sign of any tendency to b e c o mo

earer. The letter had been put into tho

nds of the police, but investigation had

d to no further success than it did in t he

periment with the bloodhound, which

d sniffed it s vague and shadowy way

her an d thither with no fixity of purpose,

ming, it is true, to the quays ide, but e ven

CHAPTER X I I I . — A F URT H E R CLUE.

there giving no speci al sign of eagerness

fo r th e trail, and being equally at a loss upon

either edg e of tho basin.

Indeed, Mr. Brant 's research had been

quite as helpful as any. I t was found by

discreet inquiry that th e statement of th e

master of the Pretty Poll as to his inability to

write was perfectly cor rect , and the diag ram

and inven tor y of things and person s upon

the barge were conclu sive to Mr. Hut ton,

upon tho schoolma ster's guarantee of their

accuracy. Moreover , in various indirect

ways confi rmat ion had been obtainable

of the correctness of much that this docu

ment contained.

T h e rewards for informa tion as to themissing bo y had b y no w been increased t o

£1000, and all the papers had at the time

gi ven publ ic i ty to the stran ge c ase, while

Scot land Yard had place d one of its de tect ives

at the service of the family, this officer

working in conju nctio n with the Carndale

and Lunechester police. Yet , in spite of

all this, the answer to the riddle seemed as

far away as ever .

Till , one day in early October, a letter

reached Burnbra e, addressed to Mr. Hu tto n.

T ho handwriting was an illiterate scrawl,

even more so than the prev ious not e. In her

husband 's tempor ary absence Mrs. Hut ton

opened the letter. Phyllis heard her

mother calling in a rather scared voice , and

hastened to her.

" What does it mean ? " she was asking,

l ook i ng with op en, yet scar cely seeing, eyes

at the pape r in her han d.

T ho girl put her arms rou nd her mot her 's

neck, and leaned over her shou lder, readin g

s lowly and with difficulty the letter f rom

behind the lady's chair.

" i know s sum mut ," she deciphered, and

g a s p e d ; " a n if you put notis in lunchess

pap per t o say as no un won t get in trub bel,

il e tell you all i k n o w s . "

The re was no signatur e and no addr ess.

" Oh ! " she cried, bending over and

kissing her mother. " Oh, mothe r dear ! "

" But what does it mean ? " repeated

Mrs. Hutton distractedly. " I can' t makeit ou t at all. Is it onl y anoth er false ho pe ? "

" No ! No ! N o ! " cried the girl vehe

ment ly. She had come round to the

front of her mother 's chair, and held ou t

her hand for the letter. " I t means, mother

darling, that I 'm going t o wire father t o

come at once , and we'll get a notic e in the

Lunechester Courier, as th e writer asks.

Then, mot her, we'll hear somethi ng more

defini te ."

She did not wait for any r eply, but was

gone on the i n s t a n t ; and as the result of

her quick action Mr. Hut ton was home

shor tly after mid day . Phyllis was at th o

station to meet him, the letter in her h and.

" What d o you think of it, fa ther ? "

she asked, al l eagerness and exc itemen t.

" We 'r e gettin g nearer to a clue, aren ' t we ? "

Her father t ook th o letter and scanned

tho postmar k. Phyllis looked at him with

dancing eyes .

" I tried to make it out," she said. " I t

was n o good worrying mother, and it 's

awfully faint, as luck would have it. I

thought I read ' Carndale. ' "

" Yes," was the reply, " it 's Carndale,

certainly. Now for the conten t s . "

H e drew the paper from i ts dingy envel ope

and began to decipher the writing.

" H'rn ! I t does look as though we were

getting nearer, bu t I must consult the

Carndale police before I commit myself ."

" Won' t you put that noti ce in the pap er,

father ? Wh at docs it matter who gets off

or who doesn't, so long as we have dear old

Dennis again ? Don't let's throw the chance

away . Those old police haven't done us

an y good j e t , and perhaps they'll spoil

things this t ime. I ' d rather ask Mr.

Brant ."

Her father drew her arm through his a3

they walked along the homeward road.

" I am as anxious as my little daug hter

to grasp my boy ' s hand once more," he said ;

" bu t I mus t be careful how7 I proceed. I t

would never do to promi se par don all roun d,

an d then find that we can't m o v e because

of our word. And i t would never do t o

pass our wo rd an d bre ak it, surely ? "

" Oh, no, not that ! " she cried. Truth

fulness and honou r counted for muc h wit h

the Huttons. " But, surely, if we promise

that no one shall get into trouble— "

" A rather large promis e, Phyl ! Ho w

do we know that this person's information

is worth such a price V N o , 1 must first

consult the authorities."

Act i ng upon this decision, he t ook the

trainearly

intho afternoon

t oCarndale.

H e was anxio us to com par e the handw ritin g

of this note with the one received a fe w

weeks previ ousl y, and wh ich was no w in the

hands of the police, who, however, had as

yet gained no clue as to the writer . So far

as he could remember, one and tho same

peison could not have written the t wo

notes . The second was, he thought , the

work of a mu ch more illiterate person than

was th e first, b ut this could only be settled

b y actual compari son. Furthermore, the

L o n d o n official had, ere this, returned to the

Metropol i s , hav ing left the case again f or th e

time in the hands of the local authorities, and

Mr . Hut ton was desirous of consu lting with

these latter as to the need for immediately

s ummoning him back t o the north.As he sat in the train on the short jour ney

f rom Burn brae to Carndale, he turned over

fo r the thousand th time the events of the last

t wo months. Ho w was i t possible that in

the nineteenth century, in civilised England,

this startling disappearance could have

taken place, and no clue to the mys tery be

obtainable ? I t was the sort of question

men cons tant ly asked when things va stly o ut

of the ordinary happened, assuming that

the boastful nineteenth cent ury had solved

all the myste ries in crime or sensation, and

that henceforth everything must necessarily

be open as the day. An assumption that

has proved over and over again to have no

grounds for justification.

N o answer c omi ng to him, his mind turned

then t o th e statement Brant had made,

and had since confir med on two separate

occasions, to the effect that Dennis was

not upon the barge Pretty Poll. I t wa s

largely these statements which had weaken ed

his suspicions of the master of that vessel,

although i t was evident that the ab sence of

th e lad did not in itself prove the ma n

guiltless either of being prime offender, or

an accompl ice in the offence. He reviewed



602 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.

the facts so far as know n, and went again

o v e r the possibilities .

So far as could be traced, Dennis was last

seen by the fellow who lived on the Pretty

Poll. This, couple d with the angry passage

between these two a few weeks before, wa s

quite sufficient to direct suspicions against

Smith . These suspicions were, howev er ,

lulled for a tim e not onl y by the readiness

of the man to answer quest ions, but by his

apparent ly s traightforward and abov e-boa rd

actio n. So much so, indeed, that th e

constable who had fol lowed the barge on

the morning af ter Dennis 's disappearance,

had been satisfied with the mere making of

in piiri cs, and had n ot go ne to the length

of even suggesting search upon the vessel.

Wh at remained ? Ken ned y's experience

and adventure —in themselves proving

nothing upo n which hold might be laid.

Then followed, ho we ve r, the first of the

t wo anon ymo us letters . Wa s it mere

coincidence that this was recei ved at the

bank on the day of the arrival of the Pretty

Poll in the tow n ? It certa inly se emed so,

fo r noth ing further had been gather ed till

to -day . The only plausible conjecture as

to the cause of disap pearanc e seem ed tolie in abd uct ion . If Dennis had m et with

mere accident, surely some trace would

have been found, and, except in the quay's

vicinity at Carndale, it was difficult to see

ho w a b d u c t io n could have been successful.

He shivered, as again t he thou ght forced

itself upon him, the thought he had un

willingly enter tained once or twice before.

There was still the possibi lity of the ext remi ty

of violence : Den nis might no longe r be

living.

" Go d forb id ! " he cried in his heart, and

sect up another agonised prayer for success

in the sestfjii "i m i g carried out hithe rto so

unsuccessfully.

It was mark et da y in Carndale, and he

had to run the gauntle t of ma ny acqua int

ances in that thri ving litt le tow n, but he

pressed on with what haste he could to his

destin ation, with a wo rd here or there t o

those who accosted him. His

past tho market itself, but he did

not notice how , from amon g the

c r o wd of buyers and sellers, one

woman caught sight of him, and

in doing so seeme d dra wn t o follow

him with her eyes. Ho passed on,

threadi ng his wa y thro ugh the

clusters of farmers and town s

folk, and behind him, with m any

a furtive glance around, the woman

followed, her market basket on her

arm. Tw o small children clung to

her skirt, one in deed so yo un g as

seriously to hamper her move

ments.

She stooped suddenly and

picked this little one up, bidding

the other come on . A s she raised

her head again she saw Mr.

Hut ton pass on tow ards the

police station, and slackened

her pace , affecting t o be in

d o u b t as to what purchases to make in the

sho p near which she sto od, but movi ng

restless, anxious eyes now and again in

the dir ection of the door through which she

had seen the gentleman pass, a little farther

d o wn the street, where the traffic was less.

Inside the police office Mr. Hutton ,

closeted with the Chief Constable, produced

th e letter which had brought him on his

errand.

" Wh at d o yo u make of it ? " he a sked.

The Chief Constable smiled.

" Smith was drunk last night," he said

with seeming irrelevance.

Mr . Hu t to n stared.

asked rather irritably ; then add ed, as the

connect ion struck him , " I suppo se you

mean Smith of the Pretty Poll ? "

" The same, s ir . W e ' v e had our eyes on

him ever s ince—nothing to lay hold of ,

thoug h, worse luck. But— well , wel l , "—

he ta pp ed the pa per wit h the fingers o f on e

hand as he held it—" this looks l ike coming

to close quarters. Our friend o n the Pretty

Poll doesn't usually go too far in his liquor,

and—I don't say he did, mind !—but it's justpossible he gave himself away yesterday."

" I want you to say what you think

of the connec t ion of this letter with the

o n e we had prev ious ly ."

T h e officer reached

towards his pigeon

holes and produced

a file of papers .

" Her e we are, " he

excla imed, taking a

doc umen t from these

and comparing it

with the

letter jus t

receiv e d .

" N o w

b o k . N oc o m p a r i

son. Dif-

f o r e n t

p a p e r —

t h a t ' s

thir ty-six hours. Perhaps before that we'll

be able to s tr i ke."

" Perhaps," said the father, but with an

accent of doubt more than justified by

th e past.

T o the agitated w atcher dow n the street

it seem ed as tho ugh the confe rence wou ld

never end.

"I ' l l 'a to go ," she muttered. "I dursen' t

bide much longer . "

She was about to go back the way Bh e

had com e—h ad indeed actually turned—

when, glancing round for a final furtive look,

she espied Mr. Hutton come out. She

sto pped for a few- mom ent s ; the gentlem an

" What has that to d o with it ? ' he

somet hing, but not mu ch ; different ink—

that 's someth ing , too , bu t no grea t cou nt ;

different writ ing— that 's a lot . Th e first

not so much the w ork of so me ver y un

educa ted party, like the other . No , there

must have been two writers on the job with

these. One is evide ntl y a threat, t o o ;

the other's an offer. One's from a par ty in

a position to do somet hing, I imagi ne ; and

the ot her from a person onl y in the know.That ' s h ow I look at it ."

" An d what ab out the required

promise ? "

" Do n' t be too hurr ied ove r that, sir.

At an y rate, let us make more inquiries

first; th ere'll be tim e for the rest in another

'Wh ish t, sir . . . and don't ax me no

questions ! You r lad's in t' Condor.' "

was co mi ng her way. She fumb led in her

pocket .

" Billy, lad ," she said hurriedl y, here's

a penny . Thee tak ' Jenny and get some

toffy ."

In eager haste the two mites vani shed

into the sweetstuff shop hard by. Mr.

Hut ton cam e on, deep in anxious thought .

H e felt his s leeve touched.

" You ' l l be Mr. Hut to n, likel y ? "

H e looked up quickly. Before him stood

a tidy -loo king wom an, evident ly bent up on

her home ward way from market.

" Ye s, " he said in surpr ise; " what is it ? "

The woman looked up and down the

street.



Under the Edge of the Earth. 603

" W a lk on, sir," she said in a low voice.

" D o n ' t Bay anything. I can' t keep it

b a c k , no w as I' ve seen yo u. I dursen' t say

mu c h , but you watch out for t' ship Condor,

f rae Lonmouth ."

Mr . Hutton started, and looked at her in

astonishment.

" Whisht, sir, for good love ' s sake !

Whisht , and d on' t ax me no questio ns !

Y o u r lad's in t' Condor."

" How do you know ? Wh o are yo u ? "

he exc la imed startled. He stared at her

in amazement till brought to himself b y

her evident anxiety that he should not

attract attention.

" I sent ye a le tte r—"

H e nodded , light breaking in.

" D o n ' t ax how I knows . It seems like

I had to tell you when I seed you c o mi n g ,

but if it was k n o wn as I'd done i t they 'd

d o for me. Let me go, sir, for I've said

all I can."

T he two children c a me up. She caught

the smal ler one in her arms, t o o k the other

b y the hand, and was gone before the

astonished gentleman could ask any further

questions. He turned and made his way

back to the police headqua rters with this

ne w and startling piece of information to

go upon. The Chief Constable uttered a

lo w whistle when he heard the story.

" A t idy- looking b o d y with two youngst ers,

b o y and girl 1 "

Mr . Hu t to n n o d d e d .

" Y o u k n o w th em , then ? " he asked.

" I should do , " was the c o mp la c e n t

answer. " The y'r e Mrs. Smith and f amily ,

of the Pretty Poll"

" But the Condor of Lonmouth 1"

" I must find out. Yo u see, Lon mou th

isn't far f rom Luneche ster ; it 's at the edge

of the bay, and it touc hes the can al. W e

m a y be nearing daylight. I 'll wire at

o n c e . "

Lat e in the evening the Chief Constable

came himself to Mr. Hutton ' s r o o m in the

" Kin g ' s Ar ms . " Hi s face l o o k e d serious.

" I 've got a good m a n y pieces together

in the puzzle, si r; t hou gh there are still

plenty missing."

" Ye s ? Ye s ? "

" T h e Condor's a tr am p; trades where

sh e can, and when. She left Lon mou th

on the lot h August last for South Amer ica ;

a few days after the disappearance."

" Well , anyt hing further ? "

"Mas ter , John Smith ."

" Well ? "

(To be continued.')

" Said to be brot her to the fellow on the

Pretty Poll."

Mr . H u t t o n c lenched his fists ; his face wa s

death ly white .

" W e l l ? "

T h e official proceeded with deliberation.

" I ' ve been making other inquiries here

while waiting an answer to my wire. It

seems Smith let out more than he meant

to his wife, while in liquor last n ight. "

" G o o n , m a n ! G o o n ! "

" A mom ent , sir . His wife happened to be

away wit h the chi ldre n at the time of the

disappearance, visiting her mother in Lune

chester. He n c e her ignorance till recently

of the t r u th of what she to ld you to-night.

Bu t last night Smith appears to have bee n—"

" Ye s — y e s — I see— I suppos e he managed

s o m e h o w — "

" To abduct y o u n g Master Hut ton , and

eventual ly get him aboar d the Condor, sir.

A t all events, that 's the woman' s stor y, after

a lot of beating about the bush."

" And the Condor 1"

T h e Chief Constable l o o k e d t roubled .

"Bad n ews , s i r , b ad n e w s ! " hesaidhoarsely .

" T h e Condor has be en ove rdu e these three

weeks at Buenos Ay r e s , and is be l ieved to

have bee n lost at sea with all hands ! "

Our Open Column.A FOUNTAIN-PEN REST AND HOW TO MAKE IT.

By H. T. FLATHER.

' FHK pen-rest here described can be made fromJL the wood of a cigar box, and should prove auseful addition to the writing-table.

First mark out on the wood (which should be not

1

IB

in Fig. 2, makin g the length from A to B 3in., thewidth from C to D 3in., from E to F l ji n. , and betweenthe lines E F and H G, fin. Depth of notch A fin.

The shaded spaces H G- (Fig . 2) can be easily marked

C i

less than ^ of an inch thick) a piece 4$* by l i" , takingcare so to arrange it th at cracks, nail-holes or otherflaws are avoided, drawing the ends as shown in Pig. 1,

making the distance between the lines A B and 0 D thesame as the thickness of wood used. Cut this outcarefully and accurately with a fret-saw, taking careto make all the angles of the projecting pieces A D E Fas* sharp and square as possible.

Next mark out and cut a piece of the shape shown

out by holding the first cut piece (F ig. 1) upright,adjusting one end accurately to the angles made by thesides E H and F G, with the line H G (Fig . 2) , and while

holding firmly in this position, marking round theprojecting pieces A E (Fig. 1) with a fine-pointed pencil.

Cut out the pieces bounded by the marks soobtained, keeping the saw just within the pencil lines,

Fly, 2.

FIG. 3.

when the two parts, Fig3. 1 and 2, should fit tightlyand neatly together. The grain in the wood should,

of course, in the case of the support (Fig. 2), runparallel with the line from A to B.

The lower end of pen-rest should next be cut (Fig. 3),making the depth A to B \ in., and the width C to A,lMn., leaving a piece below, marked D, to fit betweenD F (Fig. 1).

The shaded corners of Fig. 3 should be markedand cut as described abov e. A piece of wood isrequired to keep the lower end of pen in place, theshape of which is indicated in Fig. 4, the dimensionsto be as follows :—

A to B l in. , B t o C fin., depth and width of notch I>,£in. This is to be glued on the lower end-piece, onthe side facing the support, as shown bv dotted lines,

in Fig. 3.

FIG . 4.

All four parts can now be joined together. Usevery hot, thin glue ; any glue th at squeezes out when

the parts are forced into place can be wiped off whilehot. Allow the glue twenty-four hours to getthoroughly dry, then smoot h the pen-rest well all overwith fine glass-paper, slightly rounding all the angles.

The support (Fig. 2) affords scope for fretworkornamentation, which might take the form suggestedby the dotted lines. Any other design that fancysuggests could be applied.

If the pen-rest be rubbed with a rag to which a fewdrops of Unseed oil have been applied, the wood willassume a pretty colour and a slight polish.

A drawing of the pen-rest, complete and in use, isgiven in Fig. 5,

FIG. 5.



604 The "Boy's Obun Taper.

CYCLING TOR THE MONTH -. JUNC.

A P a g e for the " B O P . " W h e e l m a n .

A " MILEAGE" BOOK.

ARATHER pleasing little hobby for an y

cyclist is to keep, in some way or other,

a record of the number of miles that he

rides. An d with the day s at their longest,

as they now are, it is remarkable how the

mileage of even a fairly hard-riding wheel

ma n soon mounts up. The simplest

method of doing this is, of course, to procure,

say, a penny diary or engagement book,

and each da y jo t do wn where you ride and

how far is th e distance covered. I have

k n o wn riders who hav e faithfully ke pt a

cycling diary of tho kind for periods of as

long as twenty year3, and who were ex

ceedingly proud of their grand total of

I don' t know how many thousan ds of miles,

as testified by the little books.

Naturally enough, if yo u do keep a cyc l ing

diary, and daily enter in it your additional

instalment of mileage covered , yo u have to

remember that in so doing you are " on your

honour ," as it were. The book will, n o

doub t , on occasion be produced for the

inspection of your friends, and, of course, a

" faked " mileage is a most contemptible

fraud, and an insult to their feeling of goodwill towards you . The milestones

beside the road, or road books which

y o u may consult in any public library,

will always tell y ou the exa ct dista nce aw ay

of any places that yo u may visit. And when,

havi ng only half an hour or so to spare, yo u

go out on your cycle merely fo r a quiet

potter round the roads, it is, with a little

practice, fairly easy to gauge whether you

have ridde n fo ur miles, or six, or whate ver

the distance may bo.

But the be st plan, and the only one that

can yield absolutely correct results, is t o

have a cyclometer fixed upon your bicycle,

which, registering tenths of a mile and

upwards, will accurately record your distance

ridden, even when you only just " pop round

the corner " on yo ur bike. Beal ly reliablecyclometers , registering up to ten thousand

miles an d then starting again, can be pur

chased for tw o or three shillings, and

personally I consider a cyclometer to be a

delightful " c o m p a n i o n " t o have on the

By RAYMOND RAIFE.

machine, for it is pleasing to know the dis

tance you have covered during you r evening

spin out and hom e, yo ur week-end run, or

your much more ambitious holiday tour.

Years ago, when I first began t o cycle ,

I well rememb er my excite ment when th e

pioneer cyclometers were put upon the

market. The specimen that I secured

cost me thirty shillings; it weighed somewhere about a pound, and whenever the

machine had a fall, something went wrong

with tho cyclometer 's works, and it wa s

very liable to announce five or ten miles

as the total of an all-day ride, or 100 miles

when I had been out only about twenty

minutes. T ho little, neat, light-weight

modern cyclometers are very different

affairs, register accur ately all the t ime, and

after fifty or a hundred thousand miles,

will probably only want a ne w striker,

which can be bought for threepence.

W h e n buying a cyclometer, remember

that they are made for 26, 28, or 30-inch

wheels , and see that you thus get an instru

ment that is of the proper recording size

fo r your front wheel. Fixing the new

cyclometer on your machine, it s dial willroad like this : 0000.0. Bidin g homewar ds

the dial will soon alter t o 0000.1, showing

that you have ridden one-tenth of a mile,

and when a full mile, has been covered

tho dia l will show 0001.0, and so on ; 1005.7

being one thousand and five miles and

seven-tenths of a mile. An d after reach

ing 10,000 miles, the cyclometer jumps

back to 0000.0 again.

SOME FOOD HINTS.

W h a t and when to eat while cycling

is a topic that is often discussed, and while

each individual must find out exactly what

best suits him, there are a few gene ral rules

that all should observe . The most import

ant of these is to take fairly light but sus

taining meals when actually on the road ;and, if possible, not t o start cyc l ing directly

after a meal. Always it is a safe plan to

have a g o o d substantial breakfast, a founda

t ion, as the old athletic trainers used to

say, for whate ver has to be don e during the

day. One of the most famous of those

trainers, " Choppy " Warburton, as he was

called, once told me that ho never bother ed

about the physical welfare of any cyclist

he was training so long as the cyclist could

eat a capital breakfast. An d " Choppy "

always advised a very light supper, so

that there should be " plenty of appetite

in the morn ing. "

L o n g - distan co - riding cyclists usually

carry some form of food with them, to

" keep them going , " as they say, and it is

an advisable plan to be followed by even

the mere every day cyclist who is out on a

longish jaunt. Tw o or three bananas popped

into your jacket pocket supply a splendid

sustainer for consumption as required.

Chocolate is ano ther fine thing , thou gh it is

well to remember that an y food that ha s

much sugar in its composit ion is liable t o

increase thirst. Th e best wa y to take

chocolate when cycling is to ea t it with

bread, or a biscuit or two . Better still is

chocolate eaten with an apple, for it is then

thirst- promotin g in only a very slight degree.

Never experiment with any kind of food

to which you aro unused when out cycling.Stick to those varieties of eatables that you

know, and that from experience you ar e

well aware are perfectly certain to agree

with you . Before a meal have a good

invigorating wash, an d a bit of a rest,

flat on your back, head slightly raised if

y o u feel " done up " at all after a stiffish

journey ; that will usually pull you round in

no time, and render you quite " peckish."

LUGGAGE CARRIERS.

There are so many fellows wh o in summe r

use their cycles also for getting about t o

indulge in other sports and pastimes, that

a note or two as to luggage carrying on

a bicyc le ma y be w elcome. For most

kinds of baggage that can be carried on a

cycle special clips arc sold ; they cost littlemo n e y and are very well wort h the o utla y.

For your mackintosh or cape — in a

protecting case, if possible, for fear of

chafing into holes by the vibrat ion—str apped

on handlebar, top-tube or back-stays is the



Cycling for the Month: June. 605

best position. Lawn-tenni s racket, handle

downwards , b y clips on front fork ; cricket

bat on handlebars ; golf bag slung on your

b a c k , or if too heavy , on special frame besi de

front fork. T he Ar my regulation carrier

is the best one for a rifle. Specia l camera-

carriers ar e sold for cycl i s t s ; these

have long easy springs, but, owing t o the

damaging effects of vibration, I would

certainly advise it as being safer t o carryy o u r camera slung from your shoulder

when awheel.

A CYCLIST WAR CORRESPONDENT.

I had an interesting chat the other day

with Mr. Frederic Villiers, the famous

wa r artist and correspondent, and I told

hi m how keenly concerned readers of this

page are in all matters that relate to cycling.

H e replied that he was pleased to know

it, for he had always admir ed ' ' the good ol d

B. O. P.," and was himself as enthusiastic

a cyclist as ever. Mr. Villiers was one of the

first war correspondents to use a motor car

in the Balkan Campaign this spring, just as

he had been the first to use a bicycle in any-

British campaign, which was when he

wa s ou t in the Soudan in 1898. I well

remember then inspecting his bicycle before

he started, a splendid " H umbe r " roadster,

specially built with the pedals raised a

foot higher than usual, so that they should

no t strike upon loose stones when Mr.

Villiers was riding across the desert.

W h e n he is at h o me , and is not either

lecturing upon his wonderful experiences,

or painting war pictures, Mr . Villiers told

m e that his recreations are cycling, golf,and motorin g. An d I particularly remarked

that in mentioning these to me , he placed

cycling first in positi on. Certainly, after all

the hardships and horrors of wa r that he

has endured and witnessed, cycling has kept

hi m wonderfully " fit " an d youthful.

CRANK MEASUREMENT.

Th e cranks of bicycles vary in length,

6J inch, 7 inch, as it may be, according to

what make of bicycle it is, or what length

of crank has bee n specially ordere d. Some

t imes you may see fellows measuring the

cranks of their machines to ascertain how

long these are, and often enough, doing this

in the wrong way, namely, b y taking the

total length of the crank from en d to end.

Crank measurement, .however, is really

taken from the centre of the pedal spindle

to the centre of the bracket spindle, and is

not the length of the crank over all, which

makes a considerable difference. I recall,

t oo , a young cyclist w ho , in order to ge t at

the frame heig ht of his bike, measu red from

the groun d to the to p of the saddle, ar guing

that that was the height of his frame when

seated upon the machi ne ! Th e height of

frame of a bicycle is measured from thecentre of the br acket spindle to the t op of

the seat lug, which latter is, of course,

that part of the frame into which the scat

pillar, upon which the saddle is fixed, is

inserted.

N o reasonable cycl i s t wishes, or intends,

to become " faddy " as to his ow n personal

safety when awheel, but he is a wise fellow

who , before each time of using his cycle,

makes certain that its brakes are in perfect

order. The habit of doing so, indeed, is

on e to be cultivated, for defective brakes

have been the cause of most fatal cycling

accidents , and a minute or two spent in

brake adjustment would have saved m any

lives. So just give a touch to both brakes

to see that the y work properl y, ever y time

before you hop into the saddle.

eyes

' TBEAH IM ! " thun-

J_ d ere d Dr. Bra n-

d o n . The small

dusky - featured

b oy opened his

sleepily, but

said nothing.

T h e o t h e r

boys t i t tered

as openly as

they dared.

' ' H a v e y ou

c o m p l e t e d

that map you

were told to copy ? " continued the Do c t o r

in a sarcastic ton e. Ibr ahim still sat silent.

The Do c t o r walked t o the desk of the boy

and glanced over his shoulder.

" So, sir; scarcely begu n, an d I find

y ou fast asleep. As you seem t o find

repose so necessary suppose you go to your

r o o m and go to bed in earnest till dinner.

Perhaps that may enable you to keep awakein afternoon schoo l ."

W ith an air of c o mb i n e d indifference

' and resignation Ibrahim put away his map

and left the r o o m. The other boys watched

hi m go with a certain admi rat ion: they

wished they had the pluck to take their

punishment so coolly . Ibrahim never

seemed to care a pin.

Half an hour later Jane, the housemaid,

g ot a shock. She was dusting the dormi

tories when she saw a small figure in the

corner bed.

" Gracious ! you did give m e a turn,"

she exclai med, when she saw who it was.

" What's the matter ? A re yo u ill ? "

" N o , " replied Ibrahim, who was on good

terms withJane,

though he always t reated

her as if she were an inferior order of being.

" The Doctor sent me t o be d to punish me

fo r being asleep in class."

" Well , that will be a lesson t o y o u , "

replied Jane, wh o looked on the little Moor

as a sort of incomprehensible curios ity who

should be treated with kindly contempt.

" I never saw an imp like yo u for getting

A WILD>COOSC CHASE:.

A S c h o o l Story.

By PAUL BLAKE.

CHAPTEB I.

into trouble and making work. I shall have

to do your bed again, I suppose ."

This did not interest Ibrahim : he came

from a land and a house where wo me n were

not considered. The son of a high Moorish

official, he had been sent to school in England

in order tha t he might learn the language

and fit himself for subsequent employment

in the service of the Sultan. He had picke d

up the language quickly enough, but in

other respects he had remained a Moorish

boy , taking what ever migh t happen with an

Oriental indifference, but evad ing the con

sequences of his misde eds with an Oriental

astuteness.

T he Do c t o r and his wife were seated in

the study after the midday dinner; the

former enjoying one of the rare intervals

of repose f rom his duties.

" By the bye ," remarked Mrs. Brando n,

" why wasn't Ibra him at dinner ? "

" Wasn't he ? "" N o : I passed through the r o o m an d

he certain ly wasn' t th ere."

T he D o c t o r rang the bell angril y. " That

bo y will drive me ou t of my senses," he

excla imed.

" What's he done now ? "

" D e f i e d me again," was the reply as

Jane appeared at the d o o r . — " Jane, just

see if Ibrahim is in hi s r o o m, an d if so, tell

hi m to get up at o n c e . "

" Y e s , sir." She hesitated a mome n t ,

then thought better of it and depar ted on

he r errand .

" Is the b oy ill ? " inquired Mrs. Brand on.

" N o t a bi t . I sent him to bed for going

to sleep over a ma p I 'd set him to c o p y . "

"W h a t a curious way of punishing a

b o y , " said his wife. " But yo u might ha ve

let him get up before dinner ."

" I told him to," fumed the D o c t o r ;

" it's all of a piece with his general practice.

Ju l i a ! that boy is driving me f r a n t i c :

he's destroying the discipline of the schoo l ."

" I thought you were so good a disciplin

arian," said his wife.

" I thought so to o till this wretched

little ignorant atom taught m e better.

What are you t o do with a boyr who won ' t

o b e y ? "

" Make him, of course ," was the placid

r ep ly .

"T ha t ' s easily said," was the retor t . " I

give hi m fifty lines to write ; he doesn ' t

d o them : what am I to d o then ? It's no

use to give him a hundred f or disobedi ence :

he doesn't do them just the same."

" But surely there are other ways of

punishing him : why not keep him in on

a half- holid ay ? "

" S o I did : what was the result ? H e

came to me the next half -holi day and asked

if he migh t stay in. "

Mrs. Brandon laughed. " Dear me, that's

very comical . Wha t other punishment s

did you think of ? "

" A n y n u m b e r : I spent m y spare t ime

in trying to invent something tha t he would

dislike d o i n g : I ' ve failed. I did think this morning that a boy must hate being

sent to bed at twelve o ' c lock , but see the

resul t ! Though I told him to ge t up fo r

dinner he lies o n just to s h o w me that he

doesn't care a rap for any penalty I may

e x a c t . "

" I t is a pi ty you can ' t give him a taste

of the cane, " said Mrs. Bran don.

" Exact ly , my dear ; I am entirely with

y o u , bu t as the prospec tus of the school

states that discipline is maintained without

resort to corporal punishment, that resource

is barred tom e. Ho we v e r , thank goodness ,

I shall have no more to do with him to-day :

Mr. Harris has him for the afternoon classes."

B ut the Do c t o r ' s thankfulness was pre

mature: he ha d no t

done with Ib rahim

fo r the day . The boys had tea at six, and

a few minutes before that hour there wa s a

t ap at the study d o o r an d Jane appeared.

" Can 1 speak to y ou a minute, sir ? "

" What is it ? " asked the Do c t o r irritably.

H e disliked having his privacy disturbed.

" Please, sir, it' s Ibrahim again. He's

gone a w a y ."



606 The "Boy's Otern Taper.

" Gon e aw ay ? Wh at do yo u mean ? "

" He slipped out of the b ac k do or half

•an hour ago, sir."

" Wh y didn' t y ou tell me at once ? "

" So I di d, sir : I onl y j u s t knew. 'Twas

Ji m saw him go , sir ; he was cleanin g his

boo ts in the scul lery when "

" Yes, ye s: have you any idea where

ho has gone ? "

" Ji m says he's run away , sir ."

" Nonse nse : he's play ing t ruant , I expect ,

not hin g mo re . Tell Ji m to hold his tong ue ;

and do n't mention i t yourself , mind ."

" N o , s i r : thank you, sir ."

Bu t thoug h the Do ct or took it so coo l ly

apparent ly , he was in reality seriously dis

turbed, and immediately consulted his wife.

" T h a t wretched b oy has put the coping-

ston e to his misde eds, my dear , I'm afraid :

he's run awa y."

" Non se nse ; where can he run to ? "

" I onl y wish ho cou ld run to his hom e an d

stay there, but that 's impossible, unfortun

ately. The b o y ' s capable of any thing :

goodness knows what he may be up to."

" H e must c o m e bac k," argued Mrs.

Bra ndo n : " he has no mo ne y to speak o f. "

" Yes , but what I ' m anxious about isth e reputa t ion of the s c h o o l . Think of

what p eop le will say if it bec ome s know n

tha t on e of m y pupil s has run a wa y : it

will give the schoo l a bad na me. "

" I don 't see why any one should kno w, "

said his wife. " Y o u ' d better g o an d find

him at o n c e . Tell Mr. Harris that he

won' t be at tea : yo u needn't expla in wh y. "

This seemed the wisest cour se and the

D o c t o r ad op te d it. It was in a savage

m o o d tha t he sallied forth in the growing

dusk to hunt th e t ruant .

His first visit was to Mr. La mb er t, the

confect ioner . Kno win g Ibrahim 's fondness

fo r sweets of all sorts, he thoug ht it mo st

probable he would find t races of him there .

N o t wishing Mr. Lamb ert to kno w that

an y boy privil eged to reside at Merto n

Hou se was capa ble of leavin g it of his own

free will, the Do ct or t r ied to be diplomatic.

" G o o d evening, Mr. Lambe rt . Mrs.

Brandon asked me if I were passing to say

that she wou ld be glad of half a do ze n muffin s

t o -m o r ro w . "

"Cer tain ly, sir ; she shall have them

without fai l ."

" I suppose my boys ar e still faithful

to y ou , Sir. Lam be rt ? "

" Yes, sir, th an k yo u : of cours e I d on 't

see so much of them this early part of the

term as they've not got through their

hampers ."

" No , n o: I suppose that is so : but I 've

on e pupil w ho gets no hamper, poo r boy :our yo un g friend from Africa : I sup pose

he is one of yo ur best c ust ome rs. "

" He was here not an ho ur a go, sir, an d

bou ght four buns : to give awa y, I supp ose,

bec aus e yo u kn ow , sir, buns are ' filling

at the price' as we say."

(To be continued.')

" No doubt, no doub t," replied the

Do c t o r , anx ious to leave no w he had

ascertaine d wha t he want ed to kn ow . He

would have liked to ask which way the boy

went , but the inform ation wo uld have been

of l i t t le use, and woul d show that something

was wrong.

What he had learnt made the Doctor

mor e un ea sy : it loo ked as if Ibra him had

laid in a stock of provisions, which implied

a lengt hy abs ence . Possi bly he had taken

th e train for Lon do n : no one coul d tell

what mad idea might enter hi s brain. A t

any rate the Do ct or decid ed to go to the

sta t ion to inquire.

It was more difficult to be guarded in his

questio ns here, and befo re he had gathered

that no one ha d seen the missing bo y it was

clear tha t the officials had mor e than an

inkling of what had happe ned. Whe n

he left the sta t ion the Doc to r had no idea

what to do ne xt : he did not like to return

home defeated after only half an hour's

absen ce, so he began a peramb ulatio n

of the t own in the vag ue hope of comi ng

upon some trace of the runa way.

Bu t he tra mpe d the streets and roads

in vai n: he even explored the Commonwhere the b o y s played on half-holidays.

Tired and mud dy the Docto r at last returned

home, hoping tha t during his absenc e the

b oy ha d t ired of his frolic and re turned.

His hope s were not rea lised: Ibrah im

was still missing.

The Son of" an

Anarchist:

A T a l e o f S t r a n g e M y s t e r j ; a n dW i l d A d v e n t u r e .

By W. A. B. CLE MEN TSON ,

M.A.,

Author of

" A Couple oj Scamps" etc.

t j ioi, when he had

read the fatal

letter , sat do wn in

a chair g azing

straight b e f o r e

him as if stupe fied.

The words that

he had read burnt

themselves into

his brain. So it

was too late to

save Pa olo ; his

rash act in joining

th e anarchist soc iety had bro ugh t a curse

upon his innocent wife and child. Yet his

wife wa s still safe and his first du ty was to

protect her and then to avenge the death

of Paolo.

Calming himself b y a grea t effort , he laid

th e le t ter on the table f or Ro na ld to read,

and sto ope d from his chair to pick u p from

th e floor th e l i t t le lock of hair—all that

was left to him of his dear son.

R ona l d and Bo bb ie were almost as muc h

upset as Luigi, but woul d not give up ho pe

that Paol o migh t someho w or other have

escaped death . Perhaps th e le t ter wa s

after all on ly a trick to frighten Luig i.

Luigi eve n no w wou ld have walke d out of

the cottage and gone to seek tho anarchists

in order tha t he might surrender himself

to them , if by doi ng so he co uld ha ve

saved Paolo..

When he suggested this, Ronald dissuaded

CHAPTER X X I I I . — A HAPPY RE-UNION.

him, saying that , even it Paolo were still

alive, this would do no good . For as long

as Luigi was free, they would probably

keep Paolo alive to try to d e c o y his father

into a t rap , but when once they had got

hold of Luigi, they woul d no t care whethe r

the b oy lived or died.

Whilst they were debating what to do,

the game-keeper and his wife persuaded

them to eat some breakfast, which th ey

gratefully accepted, knowing that they

might have a st renuous day's work beforethem. The y were still having breakfast,

when there cam e a rap at the doo r, and the

game-keeper on opening the door announced

that som e gent lemen wished to see them .

Al l three rose to their feet in ast onishme nt

to see Sir Samuel and Inspector Rivers enter ,

fo l low ed by Alfred and R ans ome .

" Ron ald ! " cried Sir Samuel, full of

joy at seeing his son after the horrible

anx iety of the previ ous night . " I heard

yo u were safe as soon as we got back to

R o ck le ig h , " he said. " W e ha d been

looking for yo u everywhe re. But who is

this friend of j 'our s ? " he inquired, l ooki ng

at Luigi.

" W h y , fa ther ," exclai med Ronal d, " i t 's

Mr . Costa c o m e back safe and sound after all.

I forgot yo u had never seen him befo re."

Sir Samuel held out his hand to the

ex-anarc hist, wh o havin g disca rded his

disguise was now outwardly himself again ;

but before the latter could respond, so me

on e from beh ind the two men in the door way

gave a loud cry of " Father ! " and Paol o

rushed forward into his father's arms. Sir

Samuel had n ot been told of Luigi 's return

and Paol o had hung back intendin g presently

to give R ona ld and Bobb ie a surprise, so he

di d not know his father wa s there till he

heard what Ronald said to Sir Samuel.

For a little while all Luigi could do was

to hug his bo y to his hear t in speechless joy.

The y had not seen each other since the da y

when the red letter came ; and each had

meanwhile thought the other dead. No

wonde r they were hap py, for there is no joy

so keen as seeing some one you love come

bac k alive as fro m the gra ve !

Whe n the tw o had more or less recove red

themselves, i t was Ronald's and Bobbie's

turn to welcome Pao lo. Bob bie was full

of shame and began a long and c lumsy

apo logy , but Paolo cut him short, saying :

" W h a t d o c s it all mat te r now ? Every

thing is quite all r ight again. You shan' t

call yourse lf those horrid names, because

you'r e my friend no w. " So Bobb ie vow ed

by the most binding of s c h o o l b o y oaths to

stick to Pao lo thro ugh thick and thin an d

in shor t to be his faithful friend t o his dyi ng

day —a v ow which I be lieve he kept to tho

very last letter .

N o one cou ld eat any more breakfast

after all this. There was such a chattera-

tion, so many stories to tell of hair-breadth

escapes and daring exploi t s , that the game-



The Son of an Anarchist. 607

keeper and his wife sat listening open-

mouthed, thinking they had suddenly-

steppe d out of real life into a sensational nov el.

Then Ins pector Riv ers had a few questions

to ask Paolo abo ut the anarchists ; the boy

also told him about Marictte and his fears

fo r her safety, and the officer promised that

an a t temp t shou ld bo ma de to find her an d

give her all the protection she might need.

Though he had failed to capture any of tho

anarchists, Inspector Rivers was not dis

satisfied with the results of his night's wor k,

fo r both Luigi and Paol o had been recovered ,

through good fortune, it is true, rather than

thro ugh his own cleverness, and he had

gathered much inform ation abo ut the secret

socie ty and its members, which he hoped to

turn t o good account later on .

_Meanwhilc he had set all the police for fifty

mile sround on the look-o ut, and was confid ent

that some of the wanted m en wou ld be caug ht.

T o draw a cordon round the s uspec ted reg ion

would have required more men than he had

at his disposal, but he had done everything

else that ho could to prevent the escape of

th e anarchists out of the c ount ry.

When Ins pect or Ri ve rs had finished wi th

Paolo, Sir Samuel thanked the game-keeper

and his wife fo r their hospi tali ty to his friends

and, as a mark of gratitude, thrust a five-

pound note into the astonis hed man 's hand s.

Then tho whole par ty started for Rockle igh ,

where the motor was waiting to take them

back to Dashford.

It is hardly necess ary to describe w ith

what joy the two anxio us mother s welcomed

their sons hom e again, no r how great was

the happiness of the husb and and wife at

being rc-united. In fact, Dashf ord Mano r

was, for at least seven people on that eventful

day, a little Heaven upon earth.

The Overburys had grown very fond of

Paolo and his mother during their stay at

Dashford, and now for their sake extended

a warm wolcomo to Luigi, though they

regarded his strange opinions with a little

suspicion. But, in fact, Luig i's con vic ti ons

had been somewhat shaken by his experience

of the anarchists' tyranny, and a further

acquaint ance with, Sir Samuel was destined

to chang e the m still mor e. He beg an to see

that the probl ems of moder n life, Capital and

Labo ur, Riches and Pover ty, Slavery and

Liberty, were more complicated than he had

imagined, and that man y of the mu ch-abu sed

rich men were, like Sir Samuel Overbury,

worki ng quietly, yet diligently, to make the

lo t of the worke rs happier an d healthier.

He began also to see that the mere fact of

possessing prope rty is no disgrace to a man

any more than the lack of it is a proof of

hon est y. So, tho ugh to the end of his days

he remain ed a sort of socialist , Lui gi ceased

to be an anarchist eve n in nam e ; and Sir

Samuel rejoiced to th ink that he had some

share in br inging this good man to a more

sensible state of mind.

The quest ion soo n arose as to what w as to

hap pen to tho Costa famil y in the imm edi ate

future. Th ey cou ld no t go on livi ng under

tho prote ction of the Overbury s, and Paol o 'seducat ion must bo attend ed to. Luigi had

mad e some mo ne y by the sale of his pictu res

and Madame Costa had saved a substantial

part of her fees for sing ing, so they w ere b y

n o means penniless ; besides this Sir Samuel

had asked to be allowe d to provid e for Paolo ' s

education as a small return for his plucky

act in dropp ing the infernal machine into

the river.

But money was not the chief of their

difficulties. Their terr ible experiences had

left them in a state of continual nervousness.

Luigi started at shadows and avo ide d any

stranger w h o looked at all suspicious,

still fearing the ven gea nce of the anarchists,

while Mada me Costa was quite unnerved.

Eve n Paolo , pluc ky young ster as he was,

had mom ent s of panic, when he woul d c o me

running into the house with a pale face, de

clar ing that ho had seen a str ange- look ing

man in tho woods , or he would start up from

his sleep in terror, thinking tho anarchists

were after him . It was apparent that

(To be continued.)

som eth ing must be don e soo n ; ye t a return

t o their London house was out of the

ques t ion .

One morning, however , matters came to a

head. Luig i receive d alet tcr , which took away

his appet ite and cau sed him to send a hasty

wire to Sir Samuel, who was in London that

da y on business. The letter was in red ink in

the handw rit ing of his old friend the dwarf.

" Luigi Co*ta," it ran. " Do not think we.

have forgotten. There will come a day of

reckoning, never fear ! S. G. L."

Luig i was unable to conceal his a gitation

from th e rest of the family and, when the y

discovered the cause, there was something

like a panic amon g them.

" Oh, shall wo neve r be free from these

blackguards to whom I have sold myself ? "

cr ied Luigi, while his wife burst in to tears,

and Paol o declared that whatever happened

ho would never leave his father again till

he was sure he was safe.

When Sir Samuel returned, after tak ing

the advice of Inspec tor Riv ers , he had mad e

up his min d what to do, namely, t o send

Luigi , Mad ame Costa and Paol o abroa d in

his ow n ste am- yac ht for a cruise in t he

Medit erranea n, til l the affair had blo wn

over and the police should be able to satisfy

them tha t th o anarchists would t rouble

them no longer .

Ro n a ld an d Bo b b i e , when they heard of

this, bo th b egg ed to be allo wed to go too ;

and, tho ugh the y were really not in the least

nervous, they suggested that they too had

probably drawn down the wrath of the

anarchists upon themselves by their share in

the Rockle igh ep isode . At last Sir Samuel

and Mr. Brand ram, who had been summ one dto the consu ltat ion, ga ve wa y : and it was

decided tha t th e three b o y s should sail in

the yacht Firefly in char ge of a tutor, so

as to com bin e instruction w ith amuse ment .

Their j oy on hearing this knew no bou nds,

and the next week was occ upi ed by the

whole par ty in preparing for the v o y a g e .

ON THE SICK LIST.

A moment later :— " Here are some nice grapes and some jelly.

Before the Matron comes in :— " Mind your heads there! Look Master Brown, and how are you feeling now ? "

out, Larkins I Coming over I " " Oh, very weak and exhausted, Mrs. Jobson, thank you."



0 0 8 The "Boy's Obern Taper.

Our Rote Book.

F R O M B L U E J A C K E T T O

C O M M A N D E S .

EVERY soldier, it has been said, may c arry a field-

marshal's baton in his knapsack ; and so, perhaps, in

the senior service, every bluejacket may aspire toattaining th e rank of Admiral . It is not often, how

ever, that a seaman does climb to a high rank ; these

days of peace make promotion very slow. In Com

mander Thom as J. S. Lyne we have a remarkable

[Photo. Barratt.

C o m m a n d e r T h o s . J. S. L y n e , R . N .

-example of a bluejacket rising from the lower deck,

grade by grade, to the rank of Commander . This

distinguished officer, who has just been pl aced in com

mand of the battleship Goliath, entered the Navy nearly

thirty years ago. It was in 1902 that he had his

opportunit y. He was in charge of Torp edo Boat GO,

running dispatches during the South African War,

when she broke down some thirty miles off a d anger ous

coast. Mr. Lyne rigged jury sails from the deck

cloths, and skilfully navigated her to safe anchorage

in Saldanha Bay. For this he was promoted to lieuten

ant, and since then his rise has been rapid.

B U T T E R F L Y F A R M S.

THE first " butterily f ar m" is said to have been

•established only a year or two ago by the entomologist,

William Watkins, at Eastbourne, but already several

similar farms have come into existence in France. The

objec t is to rear rare genera of the Bombycidse, th e

silkworm family. Experimenters, b y crossing, have

obtained s ome new varieties, which are sought after

by museums of natural histo ry. The y are also en

deavouri ng to accli matise in France spec ies of silkworms

indigenou s to other countries. The farms conta in

oaks, ailant us-trees, pines, plum-trees, castor-oil

plants, and other plants the leaves of which serve as

food for the caterpillars. Cocoons are hatched on

branches pro tec ted by gauze , and, for the sake of

uniform tempera ture, the insects are often kept in a

room until after the first mou ltin g, when the y are

placed on bushes in the open air, and protected frombirds b y coverin gs of muslin or tul le.

- " ^ -"^1

T H E F I R S T K O R E A N

T Y P E W R I T E R .

AMONG the ma ny sig ns of progress in things Kore an

is the announcement that for the lirst time in history

a typew riter has been built to write the Korea n

language. This machi ne is a curiosity among wr iting

machines, and its completion required the assistance

of native Korean talent.

Unlike the Chinese and Japanese languages, theKorean language has an alpha bet wh ich was invent ed

by the great K ing Sei-jong about five hundred years

ago.

Built upon purely phoneti c principles, the language

is based upon one of the simplest yet most perfect

linguistic systems known. The Korean alphabet proper

consists of twenty-five letters: eleven vowels an d

fourteen consonants. From these twenty-five letters

nearly five thousan d different sou nds can be evolved.

Th whole system of Kore an writing is made from th e

combination of three eleme nts : one line, one dot and

one circle.

The fact that the Korean alphabet is composed of

just twenty-five characters seems to make tho problem

simple from the standpoint of the typewrit er maker.

Bu t there are other practi cal difficulties. Eac h of

these letters has two or three different positions, and

enough other characters are used to overc rowd the

keybo ard of the average mach ine . All these difficulties

however, have been surmount ed and the Korean

typewriter is now a fact.

Th e significant feature of this typewriter is that it

has been built in response to a strong Korean demand,

and so far as the writing machine is concerned Korea

is now ahead not only of China but of Japan, for

neither the Chinese nor the Japanese languages have

ye t been conquered by this latter-day time-saver.

F O R T H E Y O U N G G A R D E N E R .

IN the eighteenth issue of the popular annual, " One

and All Gardening, 19 13 " (Agricultural and Horti

cultural Association), its editor, Edward Owen

Greening, F.R.H.S., has an illustrated article of great

interest to all who sympathise with the movements

for develo ping garden cities, garden suburbs and

garden homes for the people . J. H. Crabtree, a

well-known " B. O. P. " writer, deals with the

J'eople's Gardens, their betterment and educational

value. Indo or Bulb Culture is explained and advocated by S. Leonar d Bastin, anothe r of our con

tributors. Leslie Greening contributes a practical

article on the Culture of Clay Gar dens . Secrets of

Garden Lic hens is a microscopi cal and explana tory

article, well illustrated, b y James Scott. G-. H.

H ollingsworth writes on School Gardening, Hon. H. A.

Stanhope contributes some further readable and

instructive stray notes on the Rose, and Herbert

Mace an article on Bee Keepi ng—pas t and present.

The whole forms a booklet of 128 pages and cover,profusely illustrated, and is a remarkable publ ication

for twopence .

A P E T R O O K .

MRS. FRANCES E. MACALDIN sends us the following

interesting ac coun t of a tame rook, a bird which is not

often seen in captivity.

" Books are such very shy birds, that I believe theyare very seldom tamed. There is a rooker y at the

end of our garden, and every year som e of the yo ung

In the Summe r Tent.

ones fall down from the nests. In this way one of

my daughters rescued three one year, and tried to

rear them. Tw o died, but the third lived, and we

have had hi m now for three and a half years, and he

is a great pet with the household. He is very lively

an d sharp as a needle, full of tricks and full of mis

chief too, I am sorry to say. He always answers

with a ' c a w' when yo u call ' Jim my, ' and he

talks a little , saying : ' Come on, Jimmy ,' or ' Go

' ' C h '

'* Our pe t is out in the ga rden all the mor ning,

but likes to c o m e in earl y in the aft ernoo n, and g o

to his cage for a sleep, waking up later on for his

supper. His chief food is warm bread and milk, but he

will eat almost anything, having a great liking for

butter an d eggs. Worms he won't look at, but antsare a great d eli cacy in Ins es tima tion.

" In the photogra ph he is seen on my shoulder.

He is great friends wit h tho Persi an cat sitting on

my daughter's lap, and they have great games to

gether in the garden. He is ver y fond of his bath,

which he alw ays has, except when the weat her is too

cold. In summe r time he will have t wo or three in

the day."

- - - ^

T H E " C O A T O F A R M S . "

THE origin of the t erm " coa t of arms " is thus

given. In the days of chivalry, as everyo ne know s,

the knights wore coats of linked steel or some kind of

armour to protect them in batt le or tourney . These

coats would soon become useless on account of the

rusting caused by exposur e to drenching rains, and

in the sunlight they were exceeding ly hot and dazzling.

So the knights put on a silken surcoat over these coats

of mail, and as, with helmets on and visors closed, there

was no way of distinguishing one from another, thearmorial bearings of each knight were emblazoned on

his silken surcoat, which thus beca me a " coat of

arms." The practice was then extend ed to the

trapp ings of the horse and afterwards to the article s

of the household, as the linen and plate.

V V V X \ W

Govresponbence.R. A. D. TURRAL .—Obtain the information direct

by writing to the secretary, Entomological Societj ' ,

11 Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, W.

F. ASHDOWN.—Fuller's Earth is earthy hydrous

silicat e of alumina.«. An anal ysis of a spe cime n

from Nutfield near Reigate gave the following

percent ages: Silica 53, Alumi na 10, Iron Per oxide

D.75, Magnes ia 1.25, Lime 0.5, Muriat e of Soda 0.10,

Potash a trace , and water . In the blo w-p ipe it fusesto a porou s slag and ultimate ly forms a whitish

glass. Yo u can tell it by its greasy feel and resinous

streak.

H. S. B.—The infantry territorial regiments are now

all on the same foot ing with regard to enlis tment

and you can obtain the latest information by apply

ing at the .neares t headquarters.

G. L . WlCKLNS.—As George II did not begin to reign

until 1727 there can be no halfpenny of his d ated

1721 ; b ut the halfpennies o f the first two Georg es

are worth from sixpence to half-a-crown according

to their condit ion. Glad to hear from a reader

so far awaj'.

E. MAYO.—Chelsea .Pensioner is so calied from, on e

of the pensioners having cured Lor d Amherst of

rheumatism with it. The recipe as given by his

lordship is—gum guaiacum a quarter of an ounce,

rhubarb half an ounce, cream of tartar two ounces,

ilowers of sulphur four ounces, nutmegs two in num

ber (all in powder ) , hon ey a pou nd and a half o r as

much as is required, made into an electuary bybeating them together in a mort ar: one or two

table-spoonfuls to be taken night and morning.

L. ELVINS and C . J. SMITH.—" Th e B o y ' s Ow n Book

of Indoor Games and Re creat ions," the new edition

of the old book, is now published at 4s. Gd. at our

office, 4 Bouverie Street, E.C.

A. PACKER.—You can get all tho materials for mod el

aeroplane making from Mann and Grimmer Limited,

5 Kings way, W.C ., or T. W. Clarke & Co. , High

- Street, Hampton Wick, Middlesex.

W. T. SANDILANDS.—Your photos of Estevan, Sask.,

on the Forward branch of the C.P .K., are most

interesting, as, too, is the pho to of the cand le taken

by its own light in a dark room at night. It is a

very successful print . Let us hear from you again,

and send any fresh photographs that you may take.

When possible we reproduce such prints in our

Note Book and Open Column page.

MUSJCUS.—The Nati onal A nth ems of the princ ipal

countries are given thus :—Great Britain, " God Savethe Ki n g " ; France, the "Mars eill aise " (in olden

times, the " Chanson de Roland " ) ; Germany,

Arndt' s " Des Deutsche n Vaterland " (" Heil Dir

im Siegeskranz " ) ; Austria, Hay dn' s " Hy mn to the

Emperor " ; Belgium, the " Braban conne " ;

Denmark, the " Song of Dane brog " ; Hungary ,

The " Rakoczy Ma rc h" ; I td y , " Daghela Avanti

un Passo ," Garibaldi's warlike " Hy mn ," or " Italy

has Awak ed," b y Mame li; Russia, " God Protect

the Czar "

Boys Own Paper June 21, 1913

Documents

Transcript of Boys Own Paper June 21, 1913