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8/9/2019 Boys Own Paper 26th April 1913
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NO. 30 , VOLUME XXXV.]
THE Indian b oy, the delight and plaything
of his father, was never p unis hed by
hi s parents for any fault except theft from
a member of the t r ibe. That was the
unpardonable sin in a communi ty whose
dwellings knew no locks nor bars and were
open to all alike . T o steal from others was
right and proper, but not f rom the people to
w h o m one belonged.
S A T U R D A Y , A P R I L 2 6 , 1 9 1 3 .
By ,J . R. D E H A V I L L A N D .
It wo uld make the greatest strain upon
the imag inat ion to realise the u t te r lawless
ness and sava ger y of which an I ndia n b oy
of twelve was c apab le in the old days . H e
had seen, and shared in, the to r ture of
prisoners and was a practised vivisect or of
the birds and animals t ha t were so unfor
tu n a te as to fall into hi s hands. Cruelty
had been the object-lesson of his infancy,
P r i c e O n e P e n n y .[ A L L RIGHTS RESERVED.]
which he l earned to practise as soon as
b o d y and mind permit ted.
B y the age of four he was consid ered fit
t o have a t iny bo w and a rrows of his own
which his father wou ld sho w him h ow to use ;
and b y the ag e of s ix he would wander
b e y o n d the c a m p on the l ook- ou t for
squirrels and small birds which he w oul d
bring d o w n at short range.
A t eleven years he w oul d p r obab l y be
a member of a band of b o y s ranging in age
t o fifteen, and wo ul d ofte n leave his home
for days at a t ime, practising wood-craft and
perfect ing his educ ation in the hunter ' s lore .
This was an early stage of his school ing .
N o w , to o, in the sum mer mo rnings he wou ld
be t ak en out for drill with all the other
you ths under the guidance of pr oved and
ex p e r i en ced fighting-men. T hu s, ar me d
wi th a bo w and arrows of reed, girt with
a belt to carry the du mm y knife, and wearing
a tu f t of grass up on his head to represent
the scalp lock , he w oul d be put through
the various evolut ions of Indian warfare—
the approach, the retreat , the rally,'—
which would conclud e wi th a general engage
ment between two sides.
T h e rules were s imple . Wh oe ve r was
s t ruck in a vi ta l p ar t was obl iged t o fall
as i f dead, and t o a l low his enemy t o
appro ach, to place his fo o t upon the prostrate
b o d y , to ma ke the feint of scalpi ng with his
w o o d e n knife, and bear awa y the cherishedtuft as evidence t ha t he had as g o o d as
slain a man. On the return to camp those
w h o had t ak en scalps were al lowed to
sing their t r iumph in the scalp-dance—no
smal l reward—before a general audience
which might includ e the Chiefs.
Frequent ly i t happened t ha t bands of
these youths have set out on predatory
ex p ed i t i o n s of their own accord, t ravel l ing
several hundr ed mile s in safety, often
throu gh districts which the y had never
seen before.
T h o se w ho know the Red Indian will
not wonder at the safe return of such parties
f rom any give n poin t , because an Indian,
l ike a hom ing bird, kno ws b y some inst inct
the shortest and mos t direct way to thel o d g e s of his peop le : but any on e is justified
in pausing to wonder at the outward j ourne ys
wi thout dou bt made by comparat ive
children.
There were no secrets in an Indian camp.
A m o n g s t so many inquisi t ive eyes i t was
impossib le to evade suspic ion. Every one
Y O U N G I N D I A N S O F T O - D A Y .
A Group of Children belonging to the Ute Tribe, North America.
THE MAKING OF* A " BRAVE:."
How -the Red Man went t o S c h o o l .
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466 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.
knew b efo reh an d of the in ten t ions of the
b o y s , and so m e old " b r a v e " who had
fol lowed the trail would si t with them for
several days, carefully instructing them in
the landmarks to be observed ere route.
T h e time allotted for th e ex p ed i t i o n would
be d iv ided in to so many days , and one b oy
would be chosen t o r em em b er the detai ls of
the first day 's march, learning the m o v e r
and over till he k n ew th em by heart and,with the aid of a no tched s t ick , could repeat
th em . A n o th e r b o y would t ak e the second
d ay , and in this m an n er a j o u rn ey of several
hundred miles would be p lan n ed out as
cer ta in ly as if done wi th map and c o m p a s s .
I t is not difficult t o p erce iv e th a t any
isolated traveller who fell across the path
of one of these bands of young ruffians,
athirst for fame and im p erv io u s t o com
passion, would be as cer ta in of his fate as a
w o u n d e d deer beset b y wolves . B u t t h ey
did no t confine t h em se lv es to the m in o r
inciden ts of a cam p a ig n , and s o m e of the
most desperate attacks, fol lowed b y horr ib le
cold-b looded cruelties, have been ascribed
to these young lads.
A t h o m e , if he b e lo n g edt o one of the horse-
t r ibes of the plains, the redsk in b o y woulddeve lop in to a t y p e of rough-r ider wh ichhas
w o n the ad m i ra t i o n of all ex p e r i en ced
horsemen . For, after being put u p o n a
p o n y in in fancy and hav ing learned t o ride
as he learned to walk , he had b een employed
as b o y h e rd er of the t r o o p s of p o n ies on the
ou tsk i r ts of the c a m p , and in the course
of hi s p leasu re or e m p l o y m e n t had r i d d en
and raced every one of them until he k n ew
the qualities of each t o perfect ion .
The Ind ian p o n y ha s been truly d esc r ib ed
as the e n e m y of man. Whether thiB be
d u e to an ancest ry that ha s n ev e r k n o w n
anything but h id eo u s cruelty, at the h an d s
of Ind ian b rave or Span ish cabal lero , is a
matter of o p in io n . I t remains th a t the
Ind ian p o n y is in t ractab le , vicious and
savage, and at his best when l iv ing a wild
and arduous l ife. Y e t , let hi m be pu t in a
s tab le , an d g iven co rn , and he will degenerate
into wort hles snes s; whereas when left to
half die of s tarvat ion in the win ter he will
g row fat in the sp r ing and be ab le to carry a
cruel master untiringl y.
Th e p r o v e r b is no t withou t s ign if icance of
w h at he is cal led upon to en d u re : a white
m an will l eav e a p o n y fo r d ead ; a M e x i c a n
will get the p o n y up and ride him for fifty
miles before ab an d o n in g h im ; an In d i an will
r ide the same an imal for ano ther week .
B u t see hi m at hi s best, full of y ea r s and
the pride of l ife, a bucking, fighting, tem
pestuous b ru te wh ich takes a g o o d man
t o c o m e near. See, to o, the Ind ian b oy , wi th
no other harness than a cord of green h ide,
catch the p o n y and tie the re in abou t hi s
jaw, m o u n t h im n a k e d as he is, and take
h im, desp i te hi s fighting, over ro u g h and
s m o o t h for ho w l o n g and w h ereso ev e r the
y o u n g r ider will. Fo r to see is to w o n d e r
and admire .
I t was amongst the Southern Ind ians , the
Kiowas and C o m an ch es , that the idea of
plaiting a horse-hair halter in to the p o n y ' s
m an e was first e v o l v e d . In to this l o o p
which hung round the an imal ' s neck the
rider put his elbow and, so su p p o r t ed , wa s
ab le t o swing himself over the side of the
p o n y , l eav in g only hi s foot exposed . B y
long pract ice the warriors were able t o
ex ecu te th is manoeuvre at full speed, and
to shoo t their arrows across the bac k o r under
the neck of an apparently riderless horse.Afte r fighting, to steal horses was the
ro ad to famo. Th e readiness of a horse to
take fright and l eap off at sp eed for very
slight cause is said to be an ing rained
heritage from ancesto rs whose g razing
grounds were the ha un t of l i o n s ; but be
th a t as it may, the Ind ian bo y would soon
supp ly any th ing th a t m ig h t be want ing to
his readiness to s t am p ed e , as with blood
curd l ing yel ls and the whirl of w av in g
b lankets he s w o o p e d out of the silence of the
twi l igh t upon the unsuspect ing herd ,who,
terrified b e y o n d con tro l , b roke f rom thei r
p icket ropes and fled, only to be ro u n d ed up
b y thei r new masters and d r iv en tw en ty
miles at a ro u n d p ace to the prearrangedh id ing-p lace.
One would th ink th a t with such an
ed u ca t io n the Ind ian b oy of sev en teen or
eigh teen migh t have bee n considere d a
fully t ra ined " b r a v e , " or warrior. N o t
so . There remained yet an ordeal before
he should be ad m i t t ed to the rank and
status of a ma n ; an o rd ea l so terrible th a t
th e natural t h o u g h t is of w o n d e r th a t any
shou ld have su rv ived it . Yet failure to
endure the u t t e rm o s t invo lved ex c lu s io n
from all the priv i leges of a warr io r .
On an ap p o in t ed day the you ths were
su m m o n ed to the great med icine- lodge
where were assembled the lead ing men of
the tribe, the tor turers and their assistants.
F r o m a tall pole hung long ropes . T o this
th e bo y would be led, and, after a k in d of medica l ex am in a t io n t o find ou t h o w m u ch
he could endure , the m ed ic in e -m an would
take hi s sacred knife and m ak e t w o d e e p
incisions in the lad ' s chest . Rais ing the
flesh with a piece of wood, he would pass a
horse-hair rope under it, and repeat the
operat ion on the o ther b reas t . To the en d s
of the rope p ieces of wood were fastened,
and the lad wa s left to get free b y t h ro w in g
himself b ack w ard s in o rd e r to break the
sinews by his o wn weigh t—a course which
somet imes t o o k m o re than a day and a n igh t
in th e case of you th s o f excep t ional physiq ue.
Somet imes the m eth o d wa s varied. The
ropes m ig h t be fastened to a loose buffalo
skull, or the lad migh t be p laced on a pony
and the ro p es be fastened to it s head, so that
whenever it s t o o p e d to graze the horsehair
pu l led and f rayed the jagged wounds.
This ordeal wa s k n o w n as the" Sun-dance,
b u t the tor ture which was undergone by the
medicine-men was eve n more severe. After
the muscles of his chest ha d been brokenth rough , the lad was l ooked after by his
friends, and such is the tenaci ty of life in
a hunting Indian that his wounds migh t be
healed in less than ten d ay s .
I t was only natural amongst a people
whose re l ig ion la y so m u ch in the en d u ran ce
of pain th a t they shou ld put the h ighest
value upon a fitting display of courage in
the presence of their enemi es. As he h imself
had exercised al lhis ingenuity in devisingth e
keenest and most refined forms of suffering
fo r those priso ners who se lives were forfeit ,
so the R ed Man ex p ec t ed t o suffer at the
hands of any foes who m ig h t succeed in
cap tu r ing him. No matter h o w l o n g the
to r tu re , no g ro an nor plea for m ercy was
allowed to pass hi s l ip s .
O n the o ther hand , he would su m m o n al l
his energy t o endure , and all his powers of
imag inat ion to dev ise the most cutting
taunts for the people in to whos e hands he
had fallen, until the ev id en ce of failing
strength warned him th a t th e t ime was
c o m e for him to sing his death song , t o
ch an t the glory of his l ife, the n u m b er of
the warriors w h o m he had slain and the
revenge hi s people would take for the life
that he was g iv ing up. The Re d Ind ian
is not as a rule beloved by the white invader ,
but even those who hate him most must
c o n c e d e to h im the courage of a man.
BUSINESS IS BUSINESS.
~VTO end of fellows at our scliool,
I'm bound in truth to say,
Commercial instincts that are keen
Quite commonl y display.
They dearly love a " deal," and when
They scent one in the air,
You'd hardly credit what a lot
Of baits those chaps prepare.
Suppose that Tompkins has a cake
(Home-made)—well, up comes
Bryce,
An d offers him for half that cake
Two mangy piebald mice ;
An d when old Tompkins will not
" close,"
Bryce braces up his nerve,
An d bids a post-card and a " dab "
Of gooseberry preserve!
If ^'eldon wants a stamp that's
rare,
To any length he'll g o:
He'll rake out an electric torch
That can't be got to glow,
Likewise a pound of sat-on dates,
Some spikes for cricket-shoes,
An d two gilt studs—which makes it
hard
For stamp chaps to refuse.
I had a model aeroplane—
No longer is it mine 1I handed it to Travcrs for
A ball of coloured twine,
An ounce of menthol-drops, a shell
Prom some Pacific deep,
An d half a bottle of pomade—
I wonder, was that cheap ?
We'll turn out Generals, perhaps,
Or Admirals, maybe,
An d some of us will take to Law,
Some earn a Doctor's fee.
But though our aspirations are
Quite lofty, I'm afraid
That we are apt to show a bent
That rather points to T R A D E !
FELI-X LEIGH,
T o o Ba d !
J O N E S (to Smith, who can hardly open his mouth on account of
an attack of the mumps) :
" Hullo! My word I But you do look funny! Never mind, oldchap, cheer up ! Corae round to the tuck-shop ; I'll stand treat."
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467
T h r o u g h A f g h a n
O r , L»ari K h a n o f t h e D i a m o n d S t a r .
A itthor of
By J. C L A V E R D O N W O O D ,
1 Sinclair of the Scouts," " Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail,'
C H A P T E R I I . — F R O M T H E C A B I N T O A C A R A V A N .
WH E N
the
last pack
a g e h a d
b e e n
s t o w e d
away in
the hidden ro o m ,
Caesar whis pere d to
his comr ades at the
well 's mo ut h: " Clear
off n o w , boys , and get
to the s l o o p ; we can
HHBH haul ourselves out by
the rope. The old
woman will be on the loo k- ou t; tell her I
will give her a list of the packages when
I c o m e . "
" A y , ay, sir."
The smugglers m o v e d away, leaving
Caesar and his four comr ad es dow n in the
well. As they came near the cottage, lights
were suddenly flashed in their faces, and
before they kne w what was happe ning they
were held and handcuffed, each one to a
sturdy sailor. Th e struggle was onl y a
brief one, for the surprise had been comp lete .
The smugglers had walked, like sheep, int o
th e t rap.
" Brin g them al ong, lads, and rouse u pthe old woman. H ow many have yo u
g o t ? "
" Fifte en, sir, but som e of th em are
shore-men."
" Have you got that old rascal Caesar
Christian ? D o yo u kno w him ? "
" Ay , ay, sir, we kn ow him, but we have n't
got him this time, unless he is disguised."
" Confound that old woma n, will n othing
rouse her up ? " said the officer. "Bring an
axe here and smash the d o o r i n . "
Suddenly a la ttice w ind ow ope ned and a
pail of dirt y water ca me splas hing ove r the
officer. A shrill vo ice shouted ou t : " Go
away, you wicked, drunken sailors, frighten
ing a p o o r old woman at th i s t ime of the
night. Y ou ought to be asham ed of your
selves."
In a rage the officer caught up a c lod of
earth , and banged it at the w i n d o w , smash
ing the glass, and kno cki ng an old frilled
nightcap clean off the ol d wom an' s head.
Open the d o o r , in the King ' s Name,
y o u silly old f oo l , " ho roa red ; "ca n ' t you
se e that we are Preventi ve men ? The
game s up ; we ve
had our e ye on you
fo r many a mo nth
n o w . C o m e d o w n
or we'l l break the
d o o r i n . "
Mo th e r R e d c a p
shouted out an
a p o l o g y a nd s lowly
o p e n e d the d o o r .
The lamps were
lit, and the dis
consola te - look ing
smugglers were es
c o r t e d into ther o o m . They were
stationed at one
end, and the officer
IHBNSfci p r o c e e d e dto scruti
nise thei r faces .
" A h , Bi l l , is that you ? Bi g Matt , c augh t
a re you th i s t im e ? " He k new mo st of
them, but to his chagrin there was no sign
of Caesar Christian.
" No w, Mat t," he said, " where is that o ld
villain Caesar 1 He was with yo u, was n't h e ? "
" D o e s it look like it, y ou r hono ur ? " re
t u r ned Matt with a grin. " Wh at have yo u
gra bbed us for ? W e have n' t been doi ng
anythi ng, have we ? "
" Wai t till we have exami ned the garden,
an d t hen y o u ' l l k n o w , Ma t t ; there o u g h t
to be a big pile of g o o d s under the t rees ou t
t he r e . "
" T h a t ' s a lie , you r honour, beggi ng your
pardon for being so free. Y o u ' v e made a
mistake th i s t ime , and yo u wil l s o o n find out
that you have been foo led by some one ."
Matt knew that the ha r d cobble -s tones
which l ined the p a t h to the well wou ld
reveal no footmarks, and that the well itself
w o u l d bear n o evide nce of the g o o d s w h ic h
had been conce aled in it . B y long practice
the smuggler s knew how to do t he i r w o rk
wit hout leaving traces. At that m o m e n t
B o b was brought in to the co t tage .
" Ah ," sa id the officer, " yo u have g ot
the lad , I see ; put h im here, and n ow get all
the l anterns lit, and let us sea rch the gar den
fo r the stuff. Y o u chaps who are chaine dto the prisoners, s t ay here. Th e others fo l low
me ! "
He went into the garden, and with the
res t of his men searched every f o o t of the
gro und . There was not a single package to
be seen anywhere. Th ey peered under the
t rees and into the bushes, but not a partic le
of smuggled g o o d s was to be disce rned. The
puzz led officer raged, but at length gave
up the search . He r e t u r ned to the co t tage ,
boi l ing over with rage, and o n c e m o re
quest ioned Big Matt .
If he had bee n awar e he might hav e
seen old Caesar an d his four men steal ing
quietly along towards the s l o o p . T h e y
had cl imb ed out of the wel l , and proceeded
noiselessly thr ough the garden , after the
Preven t i ve men , and , o n c e p a s t the gate ,
had run quietly to the pier. A few mom ent s'
inspec t ion showed them that t he r e was no
o n e on board the Maggie. Th ey hauled u p
the sails and cast ofi the ropes. The s trong
tide caught the s l o o p and swept i t do wn
towards the sea, and in less than an hour
the y were surging along under a powerful
breeze pas t the Bar Lightship, and out
into the I r i sh Sea .
Ol d Caesar sla ppe d his thi gh, and roa red
with laughter when dayli ght came, and,
in a few hours, the Island sho wed on the
far hor izo n. H e knew the officer w o u ld
never disco ver the secret hiding-plac e do wn
the well , an d that his men would be released
after a da y or so in pr is on.
Sudd enly his face clo ude d. " Ja ck y, " he
said to one of the m en , " see if Master B o b
is in the cabin asleep—t he yo ung f oo l c a m e
aboard unbeknowns t to me , and I expe c t
y o u ' l l find him fast asleep down t h e r e . "
T h e y searched the cabins, and the for epe ak where the sails were kept, but there were no
signs of the lad .
" Go r ! " said Caesar, as he scra tch ed his
head wi th ve xat ion , " Mr. Laurie will have
a fit when he kn ow s wha t has hap pen ed !
Bless us, what c an we say wh en he sees us ? "
Th e strong win d swept them to the
Is land and s o o n t he Maggie was alongside
the stone breakwater. Th e cott age was
strangel y quiet, and the blinds were dr awn .
A s Caesar stood on the deck a low wailing
cr y was heard. It rose higher and higher,
an d t he r e was an intense pathos in the sound.
" G o r ! " sa id Caesar , " s om eo ne is keen ing
over the dead . W h o can it be ? "
Nusseer st ood in the cott age d o o r , and ,
shading his eyes fro m the strong sun, call ed
o u t —
" Is the lad with yo u ? Is Master B ob
there ? "
" N o , " repli ed Caesar. " Wh er e is Mister
Laurie ? "
" He is dea d ! " wail ed the Si kh. " De ad
s ince yes ter day . Wh er e is the lad, Caesar ?
Wh er e is the lad ? "
Swif t ly the end of l ife had c o m e to Mr.
Lauri e . He did not know that B o b h a d
slipped away on the Maggie, for in t he
morning hours the angel of dea t h ha d c o m e
to him, and wi th scarcely a sigh the tired
spi r i t of the adventur er sought the res t of the
U n k n o w n B e y o n d . •
Nusseer, going as usual to awake him, had
f o u n d him dead, and the faithful heart
brok en Sikh had fallen by his side, and wep tb i t t e r tears of sor row. " Ai , Ai , b e l o v e d
mas t e r , why cannot I fo l low thee ? " he
wai led . " W oe , wo e is me ! Spea k but one
l i t t l e wo rd ; smil e on me as you were won t to
d o ; com man d me , fo r I am t h i ne ! "
H e wou ld have slain himself upo n the b o d y
o f Mr. Laurie , bu t the tho ught of B o b
res t ra ined his hand. " No , no ," he said,
" for the lad's sake I must l i ve , and soon he
will c o m e b a c k to m e . "
But B ob never r e t u r ned . His fa ther was
buri ed in the old chur chya rd of Maug hold ,
and Caesar sailed bac k to Liv erp ool and mad e
inquiries, a t the prison, the d o c k s , an d
a m o n g the me n who had been released, but
s ince the night of the capt ure of th e
smuggl ers not a trace of yo ung Ro be rt Lauri e
had been d iscove red .
A t l as t Caesar resolved to beard the lion in
his den . He called on the officer wh o had s et
the t r a p .
" Ah, Caesar, still in g o o d heal th , I see . "
" Y e s , t ha nks be ," repli ed Caesar. " I am
getting a l i t t l e way wor n, but my eyes are
g o o d ye t , you r honour . "
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468 The Boy's Otvn Taper.
" An d your legs to o, Caesar ? Y o u kn ow
h o w to run, eh ?
" Ri gh t yo u are, sir, and m y hands t oo . I
can pull a rope and haul on a sail, and strike
a blow with here and there one, your
honour . "
" What did you bring in the Maggie this
time, Caesar ? "
" Herring and green stuff, same as usual,y o u r h o n o u r ; herr ing to feed man, green
stuff for horses and "
" Do n' t say asses, Caesar, m y man, o r yo u
and I will fall ou t. "
" Y ou said i t ; you r honour, not me ; the
asses I kn ow do n' t feed on green stuff."
" Th at ' s eno ugh , Caesar : so me da y I shall
catch y ou , as sure as your name is Caesar
Christian, and w hen I do it will be a sad d ay
fo r some one on the other side of the water ."
" And for someone on th is s ide , too , your
honour," replied Caesar with a quiet smile.
" I s my lady your g o o d wife well, and the
childer ? "
T h e officer's face chan ged, and for a
mo men t or two the men l o o k e d straight
at each other.
" Y o u are a bra ve man , Caesar, but be
careful , m y son, be carefu l. My wife and
child ren are very dear to me, so is my dut y,
an d Go d help ing me , I shall do it even if it
oosts me everything I value in this w or l d . "
" Right you are, your honour, we know
ea ch oth er. If 1 were a smug gler I sho uld be
afraid of a man like you rsel f—so I sho uld ."
" D i d y o u c o m e here to tell me this,
Caesar ? "
" No , yo ur honour, but to ask you some
thing. On t ha t night I 've heard say t ha t
y o u gra bbed a bo y, a l i l ' bo y abou t so high.
His name wa s Bo b ; can yo u tel l me where
t h a t boy is now ? "
H e fixed his eyes intently on the officer's
face and waited his reply with great
eagerness.' I can not , Caesar. W e ques tione d the
men and searched for the goods in Mother
R e d c a p ' s garden, but found nothing. The n
said I to the m en, ' W e hav e got the s loop
at any rate. Com e awa y dow n to the pier . '
The lad was fastened round the elbows with
a rope , we to ok the gag off his mout h and
made him walk alongside one of our men.
W h e n we got to the pier the s loop ha d
vanished, and so had our boat . W e hunted
about in the darkness but not a sight of the
sloop was to be seen anyw here . Sudd enly
a slight for m passed m e and I heard a splash
in the wate r. T w o of m y me n fired their
pistols. W e heard a shout and then there
was silence. W e ran along the shore and
searched about , but the lad had disappeared.
S o m eh o w he had slippe d out of the ro pe.
• W e fou nd it afterwards on the pier.
Whether we hit him or no I do not know,
his shout seemed to say that we had, but at
any rate we did no t see him again, and I
fancy he was carried o ut to sea on the stron g
tide, and drow ned . Wa s he one of the lads
belong ing to the Maggie, Caesar ? "
Bu t the old smug gler was to o war y to be
cau ght so easily. Feign ing a look of great
surprise, he said, " Th e Maggie, your
hono ur ? Surely yo u don 't mean to say that
it wa s m y sloop you captured t ha t night V
A n d me not on it ! I hav e neve r let the
Maggie c o m e into the Merse y with out me
b e in g on board. Y o u r hono ur is dreaming,
surely ! "
" Lik e eno ugh , Caesar; we did not re ad t he
name , but I had a wild kind of idea that
some of the men we gra bbe d belon ged to
y o u r sloop. But I sometimes have strange
dreams, and this might have been one of
them."
" May you have many such, your honour,
.and good-bye , and God bless you."
" Good-bye , Caesar; let me sho w yo u ou t. "
H e rose and opened the door for Caesar,
and the ol d smugg ler gave him a se amanlike
bow. As he tu rned away the officer called
after him—
" And were you dreaming about the lad,
Caesar ? "
Caesar said nothing unti l he got on the
quay and looked out upon the sweeping tide.
" A dre am, " he mutte red, as he bru sheda tear out of his ey e ; " a y , and a mighty
bad one, too . P oo r laddie, poor laddie,
d ro w n ed in the tid e, and whi le I was hurr ying
away like a frightened coward ! "
A n d now it is time to return to Bob Laurie.
W h e n the Preventive men had led him down
to the pier he had ma nag ed t o wriggle out of
the bond s whi ch held his arms. Th e rope
had been tied carelessly, and, b eing some
what thick, it had not been
difficult for the sli ghtly-
built lad to get his hands
free. By the time they
reached the river he had
the shore and lande d abo ut a mile dow n the
river.
H e found himself among some sandhills.
Tired , wet, and bleeding from the woun d in
his head, he staggered along until he felt so
fat igued that he could go no farther. H e
fell upon the sand, and after binding a
handkerchief round his forehead, the poor
lad fell fast asleep .W h en he awakened and tried to move he
found that he was bound hand and foot. He
had dreamed that he was being tossed up and
d o w n by black men, in a kind of rude cradle,
an d that an extra bump had aroused him.
on ly to fling it asid e, an d he was free. He
seized his opportunity, and dar ted quickly
into the wa ter.
H e fell full leng th, an d was rising, w hen
the pistol s went off. One bullet tou che d
him slightly on the forehead, and knocked
awa y the skin. Th e pain forced a cry from
his lips. He div ed, and came up a good
distan ce from the shore. Th en he faced the
current and kept himself in almost the same
sp o t , watc hing the men as they hurried up
and do wn the beach searching for him. He
waited until they had given up the hunt,
and then, feeling that the tide was carry
ing him out to the sea, he struck out for
" A shout of laughter greetedBob and his conductor as they
ca me within th e circle of the firel ight." (Seep. 46».)
H e discovered then t ha t he was on a wooden
shelf in a covered-in cart or caravan, and that
th e strange mot ion was caused by the rapid
m o v e m e n t of the vehic le o ver a rough ro ad.
H e shouted, but his voice cou ld not be heard
because of the rattling.
H e lay for a while, and then shouted
again. A rough voice from the front of the
cart grow led ou t: " Tie something over that
lad' s mou th, L eah , or hit him over the hea d
with a st ick."
B o b had sense enough to lie quiet, and
the bumping and rat t l ing went on as before.
A t last he fell asleep again, and did not
awaken until the evening . Whe n he opene d
his eyes he found a piece of bread near hi s
face. Hi s hands were no w free. He seized
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Through A f g h a n Snoksjs. 469
th e food an d ate it raven ous ly, for he was
almost famishe d with hunger. His clothes
had dried upon his b o d y , but he felt stiff and
sore, and his head ache d fearfully with the
w o u n d on his forehead, an d the jol t in g of
th e c a r t .
A dim light , struggling throug h a t in y
window, showed him t ha t i t was almost
nightfal l . The cart no w went easier, and
B o b gathered fro m the soun d of othervehicles t ha t the cara van was passing
through a tow n. He heard the sou nd of
Cathedral chi mes . It was the first time he
had ever heard s uch a peal of bells, an d it
made a great impressi on upo n him . The
bells seemed to be very high up, and their
solemn music came thro bbin g and vibrati ng
through the air, speaking a s trange message
to the hear t of the sensit ive bo y.
He thou ght of his dear father awai ting his
return in the qui et glen in the Isle of Man ;
of his own wickedness in causing him so
much anxiet y, and of the sorro w whic h he
knew his disappea rance wou ld bring to old
C'iEsar, and of the anxio us solici tude of
Nusseer. The tears rained down his cheeks
as he ponde red over these things, and he
v o w e d that he woul d never diso bey his
father again. An d ho w he longe d for home
as he lay in the da rk , noisy carava n !
He was recalle d to himself b y the tou ch
of a soft han d up on his sore fore head , an d a
gentle voice whispered some words into his
ear. H e could not discern the face, but
he kne w it was a wom an who was s peak ing,
and presen tly a soft cur l fell acros s his face,
t w o t iny arms stole roun d his neck , and he
felt a child's lips pressing his own.
The cart no w ran upo n soft grou nd, a nd
he heard rough voices shouting out greetings
of welcome, and then the caravan s top ped.
H e could hear men unfaste ning the horses,
and turning them loose to graze, and a
perfect b abe l of voices sounded al l round.
A lantern shone on his face, and a rough-
look ing man, with fierce bla ck eye s, a cur led
beard and long snaky hair, bade him get up.
B o b did not require to be told tw ice .
Desp ite the stiffness of his lim bs, the lad
s tar ted up, and fol lowed the man.
C H A P T E R l i t . — I N T H E G I P S I E S ' C O M P A N Y .
W H E N they emerg ed from the stuffy
caravan, B ob saw t ha t he was in a b ig w o o d .
A dozen caravans were drawn up alo ngside
a forest road, and o n the grass whi ch ran by
th e p a th a mot ley c r o w d of so me fifty
gipsies, men, wom en and children, were
gathe red a rou nd a big fire. A bo ut th i r ty
horses were te thered by the roadside, an da number of savage-lookin g dog s pro wled
abo ut. The rich verdure of the spring had
made the forest a perfect paradise of waving
branc hes and fluttering leav es. Th e turf
was rich and sprin gy, and the hu ge fire cas t
a weird light upo n the trees and gipsy
enca mpme nt. A big iron pot was suspended
on a tr ipod made of th ree s tu rdy saplings,
and a wither ed old wo man , with a red
shawl throw n over her head and shoulders,
was busily stirring the pot , from whic h a
most appetising smell proc eede d.
A shout of laughter gre eted Bo b and
his con du cto r as they cam e within the circle
of the firelight. Mu ch of their speech he
could no t understand, for it was made up
mainly of oaths a nd gi psy slang, and s ome times to Bo b it sounde d more like Pu sht oo
than anyth ing else. So impress ed was he
that it was the ton gue he kne w, that the lad
replied to the old woman in that l anguage.
Sh e stared at him in aston ishme nt, and gaz ed
upon his face intently for some minutes.1 1 Dark hair, black eyes, white teeth ,
firm l imbs, " she mut ter ed ; " he must b e a
R o m a n y of the Eas t . From Spain, or
Egy pt. Speak again, cully, say m any
w o rd s . "
B o b did as she requested, a nd launche d
into quite a torrent of Pus htoo and Sikh.
The gipsies cro wde d round him, and man y
inquiries were ma de fro m his cap tor , as t o
where he had fallen in with the lad.
" On the sandhills near Leasowe," he
said w ith a growl. " Min d yo ur ow n affairs.H e belongs to m e."
" Yo u won' t keep him long, Reube n,"
said a hea vy coarse-loo king wom an, " t ha t
c o v e ca n run like a deer, and h e will take
the first cha nc e he can get to mak e a da sh
into the forest ."
" Wil l he ? " replied Reu be n. " I'll ma ke
sure of that ."
He went to his caravan, and returned with
a hea vy leg iron, the shackles of which he
snapp ed round the legs of the bo y.
" Le t him try to run with these on ," he
said with a gri n; " if he tries it on I'll
set the dog s after h im , and c ut his flesh
f rom his bones when I catch him, if the
dogs have left anything to get hold of—
Y o u hear that , m y running c o v e ? Well ,
take warning."
B o b said nothing, and the atten tion of
the gipsies was soon diverted from him to
the contents of the iron pot. Neve r was
such a mixture seen before, thou ght the
lad, when he saw the food distributed.
Every thing se emed to be bubb ling in the
savoury stew, rabbits, birds, chickens, beef,
pork, and othe r things so mysterious that
B o b ' s kno wled ge absolutely fai led him.
The food was served in basins or deep
wooden platters, and eve ryon e got what he
desired, and dev oure d i t with the p erfect
aba ndo n of the wande rer, whose appeti te had
been sharp ened b y fresh air and a bunda n t
exercise.
Year s afterward s, when he be ca me a rich
man, he used to remember that first meal in
the dar k shades of the forest near Chester.
B o b did not kn ow the place then because
the gipsies did not refer to it unti l they
were far awa y from the distr ict , but he never
fo rgo t it .
Th e gipsies were horse-deal ers, w ho
trampe d ab out from place to place, pickin g
up all kinds of horses, some the veriest
screws, and som e, on the other hand, quite
g o o d and serviceable animals. Th e men
were adepts in all the tricks of horse-deal ing
and horse-d octoring , and w ould steal a co l t
or run off with a plo ugh horse with out the
sl ightest com pun cti on. On the whole ,
however , they were honest , because they
knew that the countryside would not
tolerate horse-stealing.
T h e y knew every poin t—go od, bad, and
indifferent—abo ut horses, and c o u l d manu
facture g o o d poin ts and el iminat e bad
ones with an abil i ty born of many years of
sharp pract ice. An d they were horsem en,
t o o , of wond erfu l skill, able to ride the
wildest stal l ion bareb acked , and kno win g
to a nicety ho w to t reat the animals. Th ey
were cruel by nature, and yet considerate
in their t reatment of the ho rses, able t o
d o c t o r them, to rub st ra ined sinew s, to ease
sore fet locks , to cure sore back s, and to
get the utmost out of them in work a nd
speed.
T h e y had a kind of geniu s in dealing wit h
fierce, half -brok en animal s, an d beli eve d
t ha t every horse could be tamed bywhisp ering a certa in sent enc e in its ears.
A t any rate , the y were ready to t ak e any
horse o ut of the ha nds of owners who c o u l d
d o nothing with i t , an d' at the end of a
fe w wee ks the anim al wo ul d be a different
creature. The y kne w ever y horse fair from
John O 'Gro ats to Land ' s End, and t ime d
their wanderings by the almanac of fairs.
Fo r a few weeks Bo b was kept fet tered,
and was closely watche d by Reu ben and
his com pan ion s, and ev ery night a vicio us
mongrel dog lay across the d o o r of the
carav an. Bo b had beg ged to be al lowe d to
writ e to his fathe r o r to Caesar Christian,
but Reub en would not hear of it.
" D o y o u th ink I want the pol ice after
me ? " he said with an oa th. " Y o u bel ong
to me, no w, becaus e I fou nd yo u. I kno wal l abou t you , my la d; yo u didn ' t get t ha t
mark o n you r forehe ad honestly, and you
k n o w very well t ha t th e pol ice in L iverpool
w o u l d be glad to get their ha nds on you .
I' ve heard of Caesar Christi an an d the
Maggie. One of the jol l iest smugglers in
th e Irish Sea, he is, and mo re t h a n one
officer in Scot land and Englan d wou ld give
a g o o d sum to catc h him in the act . Y o u
w o u l d be t r a nspo r t e d as sure as you ' re a l ive ,
if you went to the p o l i c e . "
B o b had dreaded the pol ice since he ba d
mad e his escape on the night w hen the
smugglers had been captu red, and th is fear
had kep t him from trying to sl ip aw ay from
Reu be n. Besides , he was beginning to l ike
the free an d wan der ing life of the gips ies.
He had man y a b l o w and kick, and rough
w o rd s were plentiful , but Lea h and her
l i t t le daughter Agne s were f o n d of him, and
ma ny an hour he whiled aw ay with t he
tw o -y ea r -o ld child cl inging to him, or
riding on his shoulders.
Leah had tr ied to get the b o y ' s s tory
f rom him, but B o b was cauti ous an d said
v ery l i t t le. After a few mon ths spent in
wander ing about the count ry, Leah saw
t h a t the lad was wearing himself out with
anxie t y concerning his fa ther . At length,
in great s ecre cy, she wrote a le t ter to the
cott age in the Isle of Man, address ed to
Caesar Chri stian , an d ask ing if all was well
with Mr. Laur ie. She did not say wh y she
made the inqui ry, and mad e no ment io n
of B o b .
T h e y were in Warwi ckshi re a t th is t i me ,
stay ing for a week for the ho rse fair at
R u g b y , and Leah knew t h a t they would be
in the neighb ourh ood long enoug h for Bo b
to recei ve a repl y. Th ey wait ed mor e t h a n
the we ek, for Reu be n was doi ng a g o o d
t r ad e . A t las t a l e t te r came f rom the
Isle of Ma n. It was as fo l lows :
" H oner d Madam,
E xcuse spelin because the qu il l is
bad and l i t t le ink. I have go t a bo y to
rite thiss letter to yo u, being as I am no
skoll er an d goi ng to the fishing whe n
y o u n g . He is W . C o w l e y ' s son fro m the
R e d Cot tage, the l i t t le one with blue eyes
and a club fo o t a n d s tu t te r s . Y o u r k i nd
enk-wirey about Mr. Laurie, p o o r gentleman is dea d, in his sleep t ha t night I was
away, but perhaps y ou will not k no w abou t
that , being berrie d in the old churc hya rd
at the He ad with hundreds o f follow ers
f rom Ram sey . A kind man and a g o o d .
His son being drow nde d all his mon ey an d
g o o d s went to the nigger ma n Nussee r
w h o sold everything an d went bac k to
India , exc ept the shares in the Maggie
w h ich I have go t , he gave them to me for
p as t wages . The cot ta ge i s shut up till
I g o in to it be fo re th e wi nte r fishing. So
n o more, honerd madam, and hopes t ha t it
is wit h yo u as it leaves me at pres ent.
G o d b l e ss you .
Y o u r s t r u l y ,
GassAF. C H R I S T I A N .
N . B . , the cross- mark at the side I h ave
m a d e .
P.S.—Mr. Christ ian is very glad you
rote to him b ecaus e i t does him g o o d t o
speak about Mr . Laurie. B I L L Y C O W L E Y . ' '
Leah read th is le t ter as they sat by the
fire awaiting the r e tu rn of her h usba nd.
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The Son of an Anarchist. 471
Having received hi s orders , Ronald
marched his m en , of w h o m B o b b i e was
one, away towards the ba nk of the r iver .
T h ey t r amped for some t ime in si lence,
listening t o every sound and looking behind
every c l um p of bushes with their lanterns ;
bu t there wa s n o sign of the lost boy. A t
last, when they we re nearly level with the
Pl ym ou t h boys ' cam p and Rona ld was about
to rejoin Mr. La ndor , B o b b i e s tumbled
against something and, s tooping down t o
see what it was, uttered an
exclamat ion of surprise.
" W h a t is it ? " asked Ronald .
" The colours ! " said Bobbie .
" The enemy's t roop-flag which
P ao lo captured. See , it is still
in it s c a s e ! H e must have
d ro p p ed i t . "
This discovery was qu i c k l y
followed b y another, for a scout
wh o had been searching among
the bushes came running u p with
a broad-br immed hat in his han d,
which everyone recognised as
Pao lo ' s .
Bobbie was immensely agi tated.
" Oh, what can have happened
to him ? " he cried. " Ca n he
have fallen into the r iver ? "
R o n a ld alone remained out
wardly calm. Summo ning t w o
of th e younger scouts, he sent
them up to tel l Mr. Lan dor they
had found a clue ; and then , as
th e t w o b o y s scampered away
into the darkness, he set t o work,
assisted b y Bobbie , t o examine
the ground all round for foot
prints and other signs.
Near the place where they had
found Paolo ' s hat they noticed
that the grass had been torn u p
here and there as if some one ha d
stuck a stick into the ground and
then dropped it . There were
other signs also t ha t a struggle
had taken place : the grass was
t rampled down in all direct ions
and some one had evidently dug
his heels into the turf in several
places, though the grass was too
thick t o s how any actual foot
prints. A little farther away
towards the north on e of theboys sa w so me th in g fluttering on
a gorse bush; it wa s a bunch of
brown and orange r ibbons, the
co lours of the Mongoose Pa t r o l !
A t this m om e n t a sound was heard of
many people running, and the whole slope
to th e west was covered with lanterns
flashing hither and th i ther like will-o'-the-
wisps : both troops were comi ng dow n with
their scoutmasters to the scene of Pa o l o ' s
disappearance.
" Tell them to be careful not to t r ample
on any t r acks ," c r ied Ro nal d; and s om e
of his par ty ran off with the message . The re
wa s little fear of this, for, as the ground wascovered with short dense grass, there were
no tracks to speak of .
Presently Mr. La ndor and Mr. Eva ns ,
the scoutmaster of the Pl ym ou t h t r oop ,
arrived, and, after examining the spot ,
came to the same conclusion as
R o n a ld , namely, t ha t Pa o l o had been
o v erp o w ered by t wo or more persons and
carried of f through the bushes towards the
north.
So the whole band advanced s lowly
through the bushes, spreading out on all
sides, and examining by the l ight of their
lanterns everyt hing whi ch migh t giv e som e
clue t o their comrade ' s fa te. Far th er along
they found Paolo's staff , and farther still a
little bit of khaki cloth hanging on a thorn
bush, bu t after t ha t they lost the scent
A P r c T U R x - s a t r E H E A T H E N C H LT C BB .£ t n t T H I S HOUSJE IN THE TOT OF A TREE,
• B Y T H E M O O N L I G H T , ' H E sM t ,
"BEFORE Go me T O B E D
"I W I L L RgAP 1 H R O O G H My MEW "& O i?"N 8
NO JjONGEK A. H E A T H E N I S H E .
2HK
al together and no more clues of an y de -
script ion were found.
W i t h great reluctance, as it was now past
midnight , Mr. Landor dec ided t o cal l in
th e boys and send them back t o bed, while he
and Mr. Eva ns continu ed the search alone.
W h en , in answer t o his whist le, bot h tr oop s
had assembled, he said t o t h e m : " W e
hav e do ne all we can in the dark . To- m or r ow ,
if he doesn ' t turn up before then, there will
be plenty of work for you al l . S o now youwill fall in in patrols, return t o your c a m ps
a nd turn in at once . I a m going a little
farther with Mr . Evans ."
R o n a l d and B o b b i e both begged Mr.
La ndor t o al low them t o a c c om pa ny h i m ;
at first he was incl ined t o refuse, as B o b b i e
looked utter ly fagged, but the latter de-
clared t ha t he w oul d no t th ink of rest ing
ti l l Costa was found, and at last Mr. Landor ,
k n o w in g Bob bie ' s obs t inacy, gave way, so the
t wo b o y s remained with him and Mr. Evans.
On their way back to the c a m p the other
b o y s met the vil lage constable and a couple
of farmers, who had been told b y Leverson
of Paolo ' s d i sappearance .
Constable Penhale, a stout , red-facedwes t -count ryman, was burst ing with ex-
ci tement and impor tance . Here was a
ch an ce of distinguishing himself !
Since hi s instal lat ion as vil lage
cons table at Rockle igh nothing
m o re exci t ing than an occas ional
p o ach in g affair ha d occur red t o
break the m o n o t o n y of his daily
rounds. Th e peop le of the distr ict
were honest enough t o ke e p
within the la w on most points,
and, bein g well off the mai n road ,
they were n o t much t roubled
with tramps. Bu t now , thou ght
Penhale, here at last wa s a case
real ly worthy of his abil i ty !
T he b o y s to ld the cons table
what they had discovered and
which wa y Mr. La ndor an d his
co m p an io n s had gone ; so Pen
hale an d the two farmers hurrie d
on and ov er too k the little search-
par ty before they had gone mu ch
farther. Mr. Lan dor made a state
men t of the facts of the case to the
po l iceman , w h o made copious
notes in his p o c k e t - b o o k , and
then said :
" The scout boy as fetched me
said summ at a bou t this here
y o u n g gent , what 's missing,
having to do with anarchists ."
" So I have been told," said
4 M r . La ndor . " B ut i t seems too
strange to be t r u e . "
" M a y be , sir ," said the con
stable. " B ut I was just w onder
in g if it ha d anything to do with
this here ." An d he pr oduc e d
from hi s p o c k e t a pr in ted c o m
munica t ion f rom Scot land Yard ,
direct ing him to be on the look
ou t for a little dwarf with white
hair, small black eyes and a
h o o k ed nose, who was bel ieved t o
be in the ne ighb ourhoo d. Whe nM r. Landor read this aloud
R o n a l d and B o b b i e both gave
ve n t t o a sudden exclamat ion.
" There was a dwarf just like
t ha t near the c a m p this morning," expla ined
R o n a l d , as the me n looked r ound at h im in
surprise. " T h e b o y s who were left at hom e
said he c a m e and watched them making the
s tew an d then walked away. And —Oh ,
B o b b i e , did you not ice i t ? —I remember Paolo
looked ra ther queer when the dwarf was
ment ioned. H e kept asking Seth if he wa s
sure the dwarf had white hair and black eyes ."
" Y e s , " s a i d B o b b i e , th inking hard . " I
d o r e m e m be r now . H e looked dist inct lyscared. But , my word ! i t must have taken
some p l uc k t o go off in the dark and capture
the colo urs, when he kn ew al l t h a t ! Oh, what
a fool I have been ! A beast and a f o o l ! "
" I t seems there is something in Rona l d ' s
s tory about the anarchists after all, " said
Mr . Landor, great ly alarmed. " Y o u had
J
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472 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.
bet ter wire to Scotland Yard for a detective
at o n c e , Mr. Penha le. I fear th i s is a ser ious
business . "
The polic eman nodde d ; to te ll the truth,
t h o u g h th i s was the chance he had longed
fo r all his life, he was getting rather out of
his depth.
" 'Ti s a bad busine ss," said he. " Bu t I
dun no as we can ' t manag e it oursel ves.I tell y ou what, sir. If we do n' t find a ny
t h i ng afore to- mor row evening, I ' l l wir e to
L u n n o n . "
" N o , " sa id Mr. Landor dec ided l y . " I t
is too serious a m a t t e r for delay. If yo u
w o n ' t wire, I wil l . Y o u d o n ' t k n o w h o w
man y of these blackguar ds there are about
here, and they are sure to be well armed;
y o u will need assistan ce."
" I h a d n ' t thought o f that, sir," said
Penha le. " I t h i nk as I'll wire, after all.
I'll go back at o n c e and d o it, as it d on 't
seem we can do muc h more to-night . W e
don 't kn ow where they be, and in the da r k
w e ' m likel y to get shot if we run acr oss
t h e m . "
" V e ry w e l l , " said Mr. Landor, with a
sink ing hea r t . " Per haps yo u are r ight.
I can't bear to give up the search, but it is
clear that there is nothing more to be found
here, and to track them fur ther in the da r k
is imposs ible . W e had bet ter start again as
soon as it is light."
(To be continued.)
S o, t hank i ng Mr. Eva ns, Penhale, and
the two farme rs for their assistance, Mr.
Landor and the two b o y s re turned to their
c a m p . They were too sad to talk much
on the wa y ; and, when they reached the
c a m p , they swal lowe d in silence the hot
cocoa and biscuits which Leverson had
prepared for them, and then ret ired without
delay to their respective t ents . S oon th e
whole camp was wrapped in slumber, for
all were exhausted with the labours of the
da }-
, and even the sentry dozed at his po st.
B o b b i e Brandram alone lay awake on his
blankets s obbi ng bitter ly far into the nigh t,
till even he su ccu mbe d and merci ful sleep
thr ew a veil of forgetfulness over his grief.
D o Y o u W a n t t o P l a y f o r Y o u r C o u n t y ?
A S e r i e s o f E i g h t A r t i c l e s S p e c i a l l y W r i t t e n f o r t h e " B . O . P . "
O b e c o m e
anything of
b a t s m e n ,
c r i c k e t e r s
must play
s t ra ight , and
in al l case s
where the for
ward s t roke ,
^ d e f e n s i v e
BBS back stroke,
a n d d r i v e
a r e b e i n g
m a d e , t h e
swing of the
bat should
be ver tic al; but in hundreds of cases
one sees young players in such positions
that, tr y as the y will to play s t ra ight , it is a
mat t e r of imposs ibili ty. Their feet a nd
bodies are wron gly placed, thus vio la t ing
the first rules of sou nd posi tio n, becaus e the
shoul der is not ove r the line of the ball,
and this being eo one is boun d to play w ith
a crooked bat.
I do not suggest that the young player
should place his shoulder immediately over
the line of the ball di rect ly it leaves the
bowler 's hand and cramp his movements.
T o p la y s t ra ight properly there should always
be a certa in amo unt of uprigh tness of figure,
absolute freedom from all crampness, and
quickness of foot action . Th ere is l i t t le
tim e to spare after a ball is deliv ered, but
in the seco nd or two remaining a batsman
shou ld ende avo ur to get well ove r the ball and
play so that if the ba t left his hands at the
time of striking, it would t ravel in exactly
the same direction as that t aken by the ball.
Y o u must not get a wron g impression
when I start my advice upon bat t ing b y
pointing out a fault in the a t t i t udes of a
lo t of J 'oung cricketers w ho cannot pla y
s t ra ight . D o not imagine for one momen t
that I put any faith in the actual st ance at
the wick et previ ous to the delivery of the
ball. So lon g as that stanc e is easy it re ally
doesn ' t mat t e r what s ort of a figure yo u cut
B y W I L F R E D R H O D E S
•{The famous Yorkshire and England Cricketer).
C H A P T E R n . — S O M E T H I N G A B O U T B A T T I N G .
at the wi ck et ; a lthough, of course, an
awkw ard stance will assuredly discount yo ur
chance s of mak in g stro kes successfully and
with the minimum of effort.
One often sees grow n-up people teaching a
boy how to s t and at the wicket , and the
trouble they t ake in getting him to put his
b o d y int o a certai n pos iti on in order to hold
his bat upri ght is, in my opi nio n, wasted.
W a t c h him closely and find out the position
he t akes up quite natural ly , and t hen le t
him alone; for nature will do more for him
in th i s respect than all the coach ing in the
world. Wh at is, howev er, the most im
por t an t point to remember in ba t t i ng is the
work of the left l eg, and the c o a c h who wants
to get the best results will work upon this
fo r all he is worth.
T he left leg mus t alwa ys be the g uid ing
line to any forwar d stroke, or in ju mpi ng
out to hit. B y th i s I mean that when the
bat meet s the ball the left leg mus t be
m o v e d so that the left foot is right close
up to the bat. If th i s is persev ered with and
properly t ra ined duri ng youth , it is a w o n
derful asset and certainly n o b o d y can hopeto b e c o m e a first-class bats man wit hou t it.
The leg should m o v e l ike c l o c k w o rk t o
its proper place in har mony with the eye,
wrist, and e l b o w ; after that there is no
need to trou ble about the stroke—i t will
come quite natural ly . Alw ays let the bat
follow thr ough w hen play ing the ball or
hi t t ing at it, so that it is practically
poin ting in the dir ecti on in whi ch th e
sphere is sent . One of our i l lustrat ions
shows a bats man in the correct a t t i t ude
after having finished the stroke known as
th e " o f f - d r i v e . "
I should th ink that m o re ha r m is done to
the youngster by the parent , master , or other
interested person who wants him to impro ve
an d hasn ' t quite the right idea of correct
coaching. For instance, the greatest mistake
an incompeten t c o a c h can make is in en
deavouring to restrain a youth 's natural
desire to hit. My adv ic e is to enco urag e it,
but, at the s ame time , teac h him ho w to hit
prop erl y and h ow to acquire a really good
defence as well.
I su ppos e, as a rule, the mischi ef is done by
a senior who goes to see a first-class mat ch
and is deepl y impre ssed w ith the style of a
certain ba tsm an w ho, may be, has scored a
cent ury. He sees the stead\' and correct
strokes, the wrist work of the late cut, the
accur ate plac ing of the ball just b eyo nd the
reach of the fieldsm an, and a dozen other
things w hic h perhaps are only the result of
ma ny years ' prac tice and exper ience in the
best of co mp an y and upo n the best of
g rounds.
Then he goes home and endeavours to teach
his son in an hour or two what has t aken th e
County player ma ny years to learn. The
youngs ter, howe ver , has his ow n ideas of
e n j o y m e n t and exer cise, and hits out lustily,
perhaps at the ball which he shoul dn't.
Then the res t ra ining influence of the parent
c o m e s in, and his hi t t ing powe rs are likely
to be spoiled.
The prevai ling habit amon g you ng bats
men of to-day, so soon as they know how to
sto p a ball, seems to be to play for " keeps ,"
or , in othe r wor ds, to endeavo ur to remain
in at the w ick ets for as lon g a perio d as
possible without troubling about scoring.
Much of this is due to the ambition of a
youth to make his runs in a graceful and
stylis h manner . Style seems to c o m e f i rs t ;
yet I am sure it is a mat t e r of impossibility
fo r any batsman to properl y watch and time
a ball if he is thinking only of making pret ty
strokes.
A nourish o f the bat and a graceful bend
of th e b o d y m a y look all right from the
p a v i l i o n ; but noth ing can be mor e effective,
from an art ist ic as well as servicea ble point
of v iew, than the meeti ng of the bat and
ball at the right momen t, with the result
that the max imu m of power is imparted with
the minimum of effort.
On e of the great faults comm itt ed by
second-class cricketers consists in over-
eagerness to keep playing forward on every
kind of wick et. The forward stroke is
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Do yott Want to Tlay for your County? 473
safe enough on a g o o d plu mb wicke t, but on
one which lends itself to the wiles of a bowler
I kn ow of no more dangerou s met hod . It
stands to reason that in playing forward a
m an starts his stroke a l i t t le earlier than
when playi ng ba ck ; or, at an y rate, he has
Th e finish of the off-drive. Observe ho w the
bat has followed through.
not such a great co mm an d of the ball if
there should be any amou nt of break upo n
it. Stick y or cake d wickets give the bowler
every assistance, and at such times it is
almost an act of madness to play forwar d in
the o r thodox manner .
We hear peopl e speak of a ball pi tchin g
upon the " blind spot," but that is only one
way of admit ting that after reaching a certain
length the ball is unw atc hed . This losing
sight of the ball is a ha bit whi ch is hard
to get rid of, and requires assid uous
practice to master. I t i s no uncommon
thing to see a batsman com men cin g his
strok e at the same time as the ba ll is leavi ng
the bowler 's hand. So me ho w he has got i t
into his head that unless he does so he will
never play the ball in time, and, as a result,
we see cases of mistiming, playing premature ly, forward strokes abso lute ly spoile d,
and the mini mum powe r used in the actual
hit , which by careful methods of watching
would, in all l ikelihoo d, have resulted in
four add ed to the to ta l instead o f a catch ,
or, at the best, no run at all.
This fault is more c o m m o n in club cricket
than on first-class gro unds ; but youthful
cricketers are not by any means alone in
spooning ba ck a ball to the bowler, ruining
the chance of a four leg-stroke, and failure
in an attempt to score with a sharp s t roke
past co v e r -p o in t .
This means that th e c lockwork style of
forward stroke is mad e at eve ry ball t ha t
is not actual ly righ t-d own short. This is a
habit whi ch must be broken, and I wou ld
strongly advise all my young readers t o
make a fresh start , as it were, and ma ke up
their minds to watch every ball right on to
the bat.
In this way alone strokes will c o m e , an d
once the habit of watc hing very closely is
formed it will not b e lost and the f orm in
bat t ing will soon go up 100 per cent . Of
course at first—indeed, for qui te a lon g time —
it will appe ar as if yo u are stone wally , ye t
i t is as ton ish ing ho w qu ic k ly by the watch ing
meth ods yo u will pic k out the right b all to
h i t .
Somehow, the shot will c o m e in s t inct ive ly and , rememb ering a lways to get the
left foot as near to the pi tch of the ball
as poss ib le when d r iv i ng and p lay ing for
ward, yo u will be surprised at the pow er
which yo u will get into you r strokes. I
am quite sure that , had I not fol lowed such
lines as I am n ow giv ing you , I wo ul d not
have met with the success whic h I have ,
I a m thankful to say , ach ieved .
In my article of last week I u rged u pon
the reader the real neces sity of practisin g
on t h o ro u g h ly g o o d wickets , bu t once t h e
first principle s of the g ame hav e bee n
proper ly mastered there can be very little
d o u b t t ha t all cricketers should have a
cer ta in amou n t o f exper ience o f eve ry
kind of wic ket . I do not refer on ly to the
" pl um b " and the " sti cky " variet ies, but
to those uncul tiva ted a nd " plough ed-fie ld "
wickets that generally fall to the lot of the
Saturday afterno on cricket er, wh o is a
mem ber of a clu b with headquarte rs t ha t ar e
situated upon the c o m m o n or public recrea
t ion g round .
I am fully aware that the village wicket
is n ot, as a rule, one up on which yo u are
l ikely to see graceful batti ng. Neverthe less,
it has its g o o d point s, for whilst the yo ut h
wh o has learned his bat t ing on the billiard-
table wickets will t h ink onl y of style, and,
in ninety-n ine cases out of a hund red, get
out throu gh no t watch ing the ball sufficiently ,
the cricketer wh o has had some expe rienc e
of t reacherous g rounds has been compel led ,
in the interests of his own safety, to watc h
Preparing to hit the half-vol ley , or sl ightly
over-pitched ball, in order to meet the Dali
immediately it has pitched.
the ball th rou gh its flight ve ry closely, an d
I doubt if this excell ent habit eve r leaves
h im .
I am afraid t he ga me of cric ket is ve ry
like other things in the fact that success in
it can only be attained by consta nt per-
Taking a good length ball off the legs (R a n j i t -sinhji ' s favourite stroke). This mea ns a boundary
every time it is played properly.
severance. Of course , one you th may b e
bet te r fitted, so far as phys iq ue is co nc ern ed ,
fo r the game th an ano ther , and merely on
acco u n t o f this will mak e more rap id
progress ; bu t no mat te r ho w big and strong
a you t h may be he canno t hope to p lay
cr icket , o r , ind eed , any o ther game , wel lwith out a great amou nt of stea dy and
conscien t ious app l icat ion .
T w o of the greatest necessaries in cricket
are strong nerves and g o o d sight, but there
are man y thousands o f youn g p layers who
run the risk of shatter ing bo th by cu l t ivat ing
the hab i t o f excess ive tob acco -smo king . I
am not go ing to say it is abso lute ly wro ng
to smoke, bu t I adv ise those who have no t
alre ady acqu ire d the habit to leave it alone.
I never knew toba cco -sm oke to do any g o o d
yet, but I kn ow of ma ny case s in which it
h£ls do ne a lot of ha rm .
Perhaps the wo rst form of smo kin g is
the cigarette habi t, whi ch, I am sorr y tosay, is not confine d to men. Wa lk in g
across our Lon do n open spaces on a Saturday
af ternoon one sees some thousan ds o f young
cr icketers en joy ing the game to their hearts'
con ten t , bu t very ma ny o f those who
are no t act ua lly fielding o r bat t ing are,
as a rule, to be found with cigarettes in
their mouths , uncons ciously do ing their best
to des t roy their chances o f ever becoming
any th ing more than the most o rd inary
cr icketers .
T h e greatest ene my to success upo n the
field is the dri nki ng ha bit , wh ich in thes e
da}'s of sel f - indu lgence and temptat ion ,is
only t o o c o m m o n , and I would strongly
urge those of my readers who want to excel
in games, or, inde ed, wan t to do their d u t y ,
to kee p clear of i t . It is easy to say t ha t y o u
will be on l y a moder ate d r inker and that
an occa siona l glass of beer c an do no h arm.
This argume nt is so freque ntly u sed, and is,
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474 The "Boy's Oiatn Taper.
after all, on e of the po ores t excuses a weak -
mind ed indivi dual can bring forward . The
dr unka r d of to- day was only a mode rat e
drinker but a f ew short months ago. It is
so easy to drift downhi ll that one scarcely
notices tho veloc i ty with which the j ourney
is made.
I would speak of the greates t necessity to
play all games in the right spiri t and be
loya l to you r captain. W e have all, a t one
tim e or another, been told by a youthful
confidan t that he has been put in late
because the captain is a p o o r judge of the
game . No w, it is a lways far bet ter to re
m e m b e r that the captain knows mor e about
your abilities than you do . He may no t
see you r perfor mances thro ugh the same
rose-tinted glass es; bu t, nevertheless, he
k n o w s wha t is best for the success of the
side, and yo u ma y be quite sure that y o u
will eventually get your deserts.
If yo u are a g o o d bowle r and another man
is put on before you, don' t sulk, for this will
d o your case more ha r m than g o o d . I have
seen young fel lows who consider ed them
selves hurt when they were not called upon
to b o w l , go to a posit ion on the field wi th
resentment wri t ten large upon their counte
nances. Then along cam e the unexpe cted
chan ce of a catch, and it was " muf fed ,"
simply through the fit of " sulks " having got
the upper hand. No ma t te r where yo u are
put in , nor to what posi tio n of th e field you
are sent by you r captain, do you r best, and
your exertions will be sure to receive due
conside ra t ion .
I t h i nk one of the bes t p ieces of adv ic e I
ca n give to the young man who wants to
excel in games is in connec tio n wit h the
man ner in whi ch he spend s the tim e not ac
tually dev ote d to either sport or wor k. Rig ht
apart from the games of our choice t he r e
are mome nts , or hours , when we are n ot
e m p l o y e d in any ve ry serious duties , a nd
it so frequentl y h appens that these moments
are the most dangerous pitfalls for the
you th wh o is just gr owing into the stage
of m a n h o o d .
B a d habi t s are easily for med and terribly
difficult to break, and the b o d y cannot be
in that condition which is necessary to
prowess in the field unless you t ake pains
to be physically " fit."
I t i s no unco mmo n th ing to see a' really
brilliant cricket er or footba ller lose his form
and cut his athletic career short by in
dulgence in forms of v ice . Quite apart
from the benefits one derive s fr om m uscular
exercises in cricket, I generally look upon the
y o u n g man who pu t s his whole heart into the
game as one who has probably conquered
hi s little weaknesses, if only because clean
livin g and s uccess in athletics g o hand in
hand .
The next article in this series will be
entitled, ,
" Y O U R B A T , A N D H O W T O USE I T . "
S c a r r e d Cli f f I s l a n dA T a l e o f a V e n d e t t a .
By A. F E R G U SO N .
Author of " The Singing Kettle"
" Held as Hostages," "Up the Essequibo,'
etc., etc.
s Barto Barbuzz i ' s
eyes met mine ,
they were suddenly
full of evil t rium ph.
If my own showed
half what I felt ,
they must have
l o o k e d l ike those
of a snared animal
that sees its
butcher's knife
uplifted.
" C o m e out ! "
c o m m a n d e d Barto harshly,
in English.
I came ou t, so as n ot to
b e ignomin iously hau led
o u t .
" Go up ! " he said, poi nti ng to the slop ing
ledge that ran up nearly to the top of the
cliff.
I went up. But , so nerveless and weak
had I suddenl y grown , I do not t h i nk that Ic o u l d have hauled myself, by the t ree ro o t s ,
th e last three perpendi cular feet on to the
cliff top, if M a s o , f rom a b o v e , had not helped
me— and held me fast afterwards, as Bar to
d irec ted h im to do .
I knew, from what I ha d heard him say,
that th is big stupid Mas o was rather on my
side than on his broth er's. Bu t I a lso
k n e w that he was to o muc h under the
latter's th um b to ' make it of any use to
appeal t o him for pro tect ion. So I said
no th ing .
The n his brother clam bered to the top of
t he cliff and t ook me over f rom M a s o , with
a grip of iron.
" N o w that I have got the bo y, I have
g ot the Cazale t oo ! " h e said, in I t a l i an , t o
his broth er. An d he laughed with bru ta l
meaning .
I had been feeling quite crushed and hope
less, absol utel y dazed , to o, by the cruel trick
that Fa te had pla yed me in allow ing Bar to
Barbu zzi t o so easily disco ver the hiding-
place , which I had thou ght t o be bey ond
C H A P T E R V I I I . - — A B O Y I N D E S P E R A T E S T R A I T S .
discovery . But his bru ta l laugh and the
grim significance of his spoken words
awake ned courag e and the spiri t of obstinate
resistance in m y boyish breas t . He thought
that he c o u l d easily force me to b etray
Francie to him , did he ? Wel l , it was for
me to show him that I would sooner be cut
in pieces than d o that.
Though I knew the Undine was not far
off, I had seen her failure to make our har-
bour, and I had a despairing sense that he lp
would c o m e t o o l a te at any rate for me, who
was no w Bart o Barbuz zi 's prisoner to d o
what he liked with.
W h i l e the ruffian was mar chi ng me dow n
f rom the cliff and u p again to the bit of level
gro und on which our house sto od, I was
praying, in crude bo y fashion, but wit h my
whole soul, for courage and s t rength to bear
whatever he might do to me without yielding
to his wil l . Wh en he came to a s tands t i l l
and sl ewed me round to face him, I had
reached a pitch of exalted det erminat ion thatmade me return his loweri ng gaze quit e
fearlessly.
" Y o u l i t t le pig who have g i v e me the
muc h tro ubl e," he began, menacing me w ith
u g l y l ooks . " Quick, t a k e me where hide
Cesco Caza le ! "
I did not stir a muscle and kept steadily
looking up into the savage face .
He shoo k me with angry im patie nce.
" Say qu ick , yo u l i t t le pig ! Wh ere hide
that accursed Cazale ? "
I never spok e a wor d. The man 's blac k
temp er— whic h certainly was allied to in
sanity in its degree of viol ence and vi ndic-
t iveness—began to boi l up within him.
" The tongue that say not quick, I cut
him ou t ! " he roared at me . " Say quick !
p ig ! chi ld of the evi l on e ! "
St r ung up to the highest pitch of nerve
tension, I stood , pale-face d but silent and
resolute , s tar ing up at him . His maimed
left hand— t he tou ch of whic h, even t hen ,
filled me wit h sic keni ng rep ugn ance —he ld
m y shoulder in a vice-like grip. His other
hand held a lon g, sto ut stick with whi ch,
presum ably, he had been poki ng about in
the undergrow th of the gullies. M addened by
m y continued silence, he suddenly shortened
the stick and brough t it violently across my
legs.
I was not consc ious , at the time, of any
pain from the bl ow— thou gh the bruised and
bleeding condition of my legs betokened,
afterwards, that t he r e must have been a good
deal of pain —bu t the tou ch of the s tick
wielded b y that ruffian b rok e up m y resolute
silence an d s t ra ined comp osur e in a way that
I do not th ink a cut from his knife would
have done.
In a kin d of Bers erker rage, I stru ck
ou t at hi m wit h fists and feet , fiercely and
repeatedly, un t i l he caught and i mpriso ned
the m in a bear' s hug.
Then I fell back on my tongue and burs t
out with a reckless t o r r en t of speech—in
thei r ow n Sicilian I ta l ian, to the utter stupe
faction of M a s o , and, for a few moments,even of Barto .
" Y o u are a co war dl y ruffian to hit a bo y,
and I defy yo u to find Fra nc ie !" I cried
tempes tuousl y. " Ye s, I know where he is !
A n d it was I wh o fou nd his hidi ng-pl ace for
him , long ago —i t was I wh o sent him to it ,
when he knew it was you who was coming
up from the beach, in the mist. I 'v e been
fool ing you ! fool ing y ou ! All the t ime
I'v e under stoo d what yo u have been saying
to each other, for I 've learned your language
f rom Francie . I kno w that yo u stole the
yach t ou t yonder . And I know that you ' re
going to kill p o o r Francie, if you catch him,
and that yo u mean to kill me, to o. I knew
enough to get yo u hanged, yo u villa in. An d
y o u will be hanged , for certain, if you kill
m e. For, even now, close to the island, there's
a yac ht full of me n who are comi ng to ca tch
y o u . And, anyway, it is only me that y o u
will be able to kill . For you won't have
time to search for Francie, and, even if y ou
had, you wou ld neve r man age to find him !
N e v e r ! "
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Scarred Cliff Island. 475
Such a wild, fool ish outbur st it was ! Bu t
it gav e a relief to my over-str ained nerves .
A n d m y boyis h pride, whi ch the b l o w w i th
the stick had cruelly outra ged, to ok com for t
in the feeling that, som ehow , I had evened
up things a l i t t le with Barto , by thus
defiantly proclaimi ng my kno wle dge of
his murdero us designs on Francie and m y
share in defeating t hem.
I had exulta ntly ex pect ed him to receivem y dec la ra t ion that I had befooled him
with a trem endou s outbur st of passio n. Bu t,
half mad man as he was, m y rage seemed t o
make h im ca lm. Ye t there was someth ing
unnatural and de adly in his ca lm that
would hav e chil led me with fear, had I no t
go t bey ond fear, for the time being. Wh at I
said about the yacht close to the island had
no effect on him, as he, evidently, believed
it to be a fool ish l ie to scare him, which I
had seized upon in m y desperatio n.
He released my hands and feet, and held
me a l i t t le way from him in a vicious grip.
" Lit t le bo y , yo u t a lk too much , even
though your friend, the Cazale, has t a ugh t
y o u our tongue wel l . " He spok e no w in
I ta l ian to me— ver y quiet ly, but his sm ile
was d iabo l ica l . " No w to wo rk ! Lead
us where the Cazale is hidd en." An d he
whipped out a big, sharp cutlass.
" Tha t I never will d o , " I answ ere d firmly,
speaking I ta l ian too . " Y ou may k i l l me
first. Bu t I war n y o u that my friends m ay
be on shore at any mo me nt ."
" I wi ll k i l l you , wi thou t d o u b t ! " he
said, cont empt uous ly disregardful of m y
threat. " Bu t n ot first. Fi r s t y o u find
the Cazale for me . A nd yo u will when I
hav e let yo u feel wha t pain mea ns. "
I wor e m y na vy flannel shir t with the
front open , as the cus tom was at m y col l ege .
Barto Barbuzzi flourished the shining cut
la ss , backwards and fo r wards, be fore m y
eyes , in a highly terrific fashion. The n
sudd enly he dro ve it st ra ight at m y bare
breast .
T o his ev iden t d isappoin tmen t I d id no tflinch, though M a s o , with no s tom ach fo r
this kind of business, if too much afraid of
his brother to interfere, t u rne d his back on
us and walked away.
" For a beginni ng—thi s ! " cried Bart o,
d ramat ica l ly .
And, pressing the poi nt of the knife in to
the flesh so as jus t to dra w b l o o d , he roughly
scored a roun d, red circle on my breast .
Tho ugh he mea nt, for his ow n safety, to
kill me when he had killed Francie, it was
not to his adva nta ge t o do me serious in jury
un t i l he had fo r c e d me to show him the
hiding- place of the ma n whos e life he was
so madl y ben t on tak ing . An d presumably
he thought that , w i th t he a t r i c a l knife
iiourishings and scratchings, he c o u l d
frighten and pain a bo y int o obe die nce
to his wil l . Dist inc t ly nonplussed because I
sho wed no sign of feel ing pain or fear, he
again raised his knife aloft and made some
br av e flourishes w it h it .
" In the next place—t his ! " cried the
ruffian, and he brought the cutlass down
in a savage s w o o p .
Bu t before it c o u l d tou ch me, the weapon
wa s arrested by a lou d cry of alar m fro m M a s o .
" The knife, whichwa s meant to reachm y heart, only grazedm y arm before burying itself in the woodof a tree."
" Qui ck ! Barto , le t us
fly! B e h o l d the padrone
and his friends wh o
arrive ! " he ex cla ime d.
Barto , d ragg ing me
with him, rushed t o
where Maso sto od and
l o o k e d where he pointed.
There was the Undine
c o m i n g towards the
island on a tack that
again promised to bring her into
our harbo ur ! But I dared nothope anyth ing fo r myse lf wi th
Barto B arbuzz i ' s compel l ing
c lu tch on m y shoulder .
That ruffian, at the unex
pecte d sight of the ap proa chin g
y a c h t , ut te red a frightful oath .
" An d I have not ye t killed
the Ca zale ! " he cri ed.
" Qui ck ! " repeated Mas o exci ted ly. " Let
us get to our yach t and be away before th ey
land and dis cove r ho w yo u have been acti ng
here ! "
" I will not leav e un t i l I have done what
I came here to d o ! " cr ied Bar to frantically.
" Ar e you altogeth er mad ? " asked his
brother in great a larm. " H o w can you
get a chance to kill Cesco Cazale no w ?
A n d yo u wil l no t s o o n get anoth er chance
if the y catc h and put yo u in pris on. D o yo u
l o v e prison that yo u wou ld wait here to get
it ? " Fe a r was mak ing Maso 's brain an d
tongue qu i te n imble .
" Corpo di Bacco ! the Cazale would have
been a dead d og lon g ag o, if it had n ot been
fo r this li t t le villa in ! " cried Bart o, wheeling
round upon me with ungovernab le fu ry .
There was no c lumsy thea tr ica l i ty in his
face or mann er no w. If ever knife in a ma n's
hand meant murder, his did.
Inst incti vely fearing som e such acti on on
hi s part, I had been prepari ng mys elf for
it . In the withdraw al of his a t t e n t ion f rom
me , his g r ip had s lackened somew hat . No w,
as he wheele d rou nd on me, I made a s udden
and supr eme effort, and wr enche d mysel f
free. Th en I ran.
Wi th a yell of rage, he cam e after me . Bu t
I was counted much the best runner of m y
age at s c h o o l , and I was no w running for
m y l ife. It di d not t a ke the big lumbering
ruffian half a minute to realise that he could
not over take me . Wi th his broth er shout
ing frantic entrea t ies to him to desist from
wastin g precio us tim e, he gav e up the use
less chas e. Bu t, half ma d as he was, he
vent ed his baulked fury b y hurling his knife
at m y back , just as I was gaining the c o v e r
o f some bush .
His aim wo uld hav e been only to o t rue ,
but , by G o d ' s mer cy, I stu mbl ed at the
mom ent and swerv ed in s tumbling . The
knife , whic h was meant to reach m y heart ,
o n l y grazed my arm before bury ing itself in the w o o d of a tr ee.
(To be concluded.)
THE CLIMAX.
By F E L I X L E I G H .
"lTACKENZIE in the holidays
JlL Decided that he'd try
To cultivate a "splendid aim"—
A " keen, unerring ey e."
Upon a catapult both cash
An d trouble did he spend,
An d built himself an implement
On which he could depend.
He placed a jam-pot on a stick,
An d after squinting hard
For half a minute, he let fly,
And missed by half-a-yard.
He shot again, and yet again,
Until he'd tired his wrist,
Bu t perseverance went for naught,
He missed, and missed, a nd missed I
He took his cycle from its shed,
An d in the saddle got,
An d pedalled out of town in search
Of something live to " pot."
He " drew a bead " upon a thrush,
An d at a rook fired he,
Then at a squirrel, but. alas,
He missed 'em, all the three.
(He'd left his cycle in the hedge,
A silly thing to do,
For tramps were many on that road,
Policemen rather few.)
He missed a rabbit, missed a rat
(A haysta ck, t oo, belike I)
An d later, when he " chucked it up, "
He even missed his like I
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476 The "Boy's Oban Paper.
STUMPS: A PARIAH.
T h e S t o r y o f a n Indian Dog.
HE wa s a wretched l i t t le pariah dog, used
t o il l usage f rom his earl iest days,
hi s body covered with mange, and large
sores where he had been kicked, while with
torn ears and bones al most through his skin
he was a pit iable o b j e c t .
This was the appari t ion which Una
Trafford saw peeping throug h the verandah
as she sat at her early tea in an up-count ry
b u n g a lo w in Ceylon . Shewas gazing at
th e lovely view through the pergola just
ou ts ide, which was covered with masses of
c l imbing roses, thinking h o w beautifuleverything was in the early sunshine wi th
the soft topped hills in the distance fading
into grey-blue haze, when she caught sight
of the misera ble little creature lo okin g so
wistfully at th e food on the table.
" Oh ! you p o o r little thing," she said as
she hasti ly broke u p some bread and
p o u red some milk over it. " Wh y ! you
l ook half starved. Here, yo u poor little
waif, eat th i s ," an d she set it d o w n on
the ground.
N ev er in his short life had the poor little
fel low heard such gentle tones . He crouc hed
along , hi s tail between hi s legs, the most
dejected of dogs , but finally, after several
t imes making the a t t e mpt , he summoned
up coura ge to put his nose int o the tem pti ng
repast, looking round e very momen t to se e
if anyone was coming t o drive him off with
a kick and the usual te rms of abus e he was
only to o well used t o, as he finished off eve ry
scrap.
Una watched him with pitying l ooks ,
saying, as sh e t o o k u p the plate, " I can ' t
pat you , yo u poor little thing, yo u are too
m a n g y , but anyhow, yo u have had some
fo o d . "
A t tea time the same scene was repeated,
and in a few days it was quite an under
s tood th ing th a t the little do g had only t o
look an d wa tch for his friend an d it meant
comfor t and a kind word for him. By degrees
he ventured to fol low Una when she went
out, her husb and remonstrat ing with, " M y
dear, we shall hav e all the pariahs in thebazaar up, if you begin this sort of thing.
Better let me put the p o o r thing out of his
misery."
" O h ! Wilfrid, don 't shoot him, let me
see w ha t I can do for him; he has such a
plaint ive, sad little face, an d I have got quite
fond of h i m."
B y A L I S O N G R I E V E .
So , after a g o o d deal of persuasion from
his young wife, her husband c onsented to
her doing what she liked with the " mangy
b e a s t " as he called her protege\
Afte r a warm ba th with carboli c soap ,
and a few dressings of mange remedies, in
a couple of days even noone would have
recognised in the bright little animal the
outcas t of former t ime. Gradually he lost ,
t o o , the cringing way he used t o c o m e t o
l ook if it wa s a case of friends or foes, and
he even began to greet his mistress with a
wag of his ver y stu mpy tail.This at once led to his name of " Stumps,"
and no happier do g could be found in th e
whole island of Ceylon, as with handsome
collar and well-brushed coat he fol lowed
his mistress everywh ere, prov ing himself to
be a capital watc h do g, growling furiously
if a pariah dared sh ow himself anywhere
near the bungalow.
Strange to say , he t o o k the greatest
liking to Wilfrid Trafford, who, al though a
do g lover , could no t forge t the little fel low's
origin and teased his wife unmercifully about
he r " par iah."
" I don ' t care a bit what you call him,"
she retorted. " H e is a new and qu ite re
markable sort of breed, peculiar t o this
district of Bettalawa, and if hi s ears are just
l ike a ba t ' s and if he ha s crooked legs, in
fact, if he is a cur ios i ty in every way, w hy !
I'll undertake t o sa y th a t some day you ' l l
be pr oud t o ow n h i m; anyhow he has
quite a decided character of his own, and
always knows a f r iend. W h y ! Wil f r id ,
I caught you yourself giving him a bone
yes terday, and my biscuit box is always
gett ing empty and I have seen s o m e b o d y I
w o n ' t ment ion giving Stumps m y cream
crackers on the sly. Do yo u happe n to kn ow
w h o th a t s o m e b o d y is ? "
Wilfrid l aughed. " Wel l , my dear, as it
happens, I , t oo, have a weakness for the small
d o g . I suppose i t is because you are so fond
of him and I can't help liking him for his
d e v o t i o n t o you . "
T i m e passed, ayear fled, and in spite of thearrival of a small person who t o o k u p a g o o d
deal of Una's time, Stumps was still her
great pet and the admirat ion of all his
fo rmer associates when hepr oud l y fo l lowed
his mistress thr oug h the bazaa r.
She was sitting reading one day in the
verandah, Stumps asleep on her dress, her
b a b y in charg e of the aya h close by, when
sh e looked up and l istened at tentively.
Wha tev er wa s Wilfrid whist ling l ike th a t
for ? He had go ne a couple of hours before
t o lie d o w n to try to sleep off a sl ight
att ack of fever, and ha d asked th a t no one
sh o u ld disturb him.
Y e s ! there was no doub t abou t it, and sh e
heard his favou rite tune, " The Last Rose of
Summer," whist led soft ly over and over
again. Whatever could he be doi ng that for ?
She decided, however, not t o disturb him
at present, an d the whistling went on, Stu mpsin the meantime several t imes gett ing u p
and walking about in an uneasy way and
then ly ing d o w n again, but all the t ime
listening at tentively.
H e finally tr ot ted off, Un a havi ng got up
t o discuss with the ayah som e of her small
so n ' s requirements. Suddenly, she heard
her husband shout in a terrified way, then
a heavy fall, and as she rushed t o see what
was the ma t te r , she heard a scuffle as though
Stumps was worrying something. She
almost fainted with fright when on entering
th e r o o m she saw her husband lying un-
consc ious on the floor, Stumps in the corner,
gasping, and a large cobra lying, mangled
and dead, quite close to her husban d.
Una, howev er, did not hesitate a moment ,
but rushed to him with an agonised
c r y .
"Wi l f r id ! Oh,Wil f r id! he hasbi t ten yo u! "
and tried to drag h im a way from the cobra.
In the mean time , the ayah wh o had fol lowed
her had called the servants a nd they lifted
h i m on to his bed.
Una desp atched one for the doct or, and
the others carried the reptile away with
man y ejaculat ions of dismay, for they, too,
thou ght the cobra had bitten their master.
B u t in a few moments Wilfrid opened his
eyes and was soon able in short breathless
sentences t o tel l her what had really
happened.
H e woke up , he said, after a short sleep
t o find the creature sitting upon him, with
it s hood up, looking as though it was justabou t t o strike. He had no coverin g over
h im , having just taken off his co at an d lain
d o w n in his clothe s. Almo st paralysed
with fright, he had t he prese nce of mind to
remember he had heard how a cobra could
be fascina ted b y som e one whistling a tune.
So he began, very softly, anything he could
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Under the Edge of the Earth. 479
th e vil lage slep t , the great bore was again
sweeping up the narrowed channel at the
river mout h. Then th e loud ru m b le of a
nigh t goods-train upon the long v ia d u c t
d r o w n e d al l o t he r sounds fo r a t ime . Wi th
that, his thoughts went to th e hills b e y o n d ,
which, from where he s tood , could n o t h a v e
been seen.
H o w s t range seemed life ; how s t r ange
an d c o m p l e x ! On a sudden his t h o u g h t sturned to the schoo l , and the l a tes t eccen
tricities of the Wizard . W h a t was his
secret ? For secret he u n d o u b te d ly h ad ;
an d undoubted ly guarded i t with peculiar
jealousy. Morris wished he could l earn
someth ing as to this ; could see , for ins tanc e,
(To be continued.)
s o m e g o o d e x p la n a t io n of that last achieve
m e n t . As things s t o o d there was—wel l , he
mus t o w n i t , e v e n if a l i t t le shamefaced ly ,
as t h o u g h a d m i t t i n g disloya l ty to a
ma n for w h o m he had the h i ghes t
regard—stil l , there was just a suspic ion
of th e u n c a n n y .
B u t as ye t it w as no t revealed to
hi m t h r ough w ha t port ion of tears he
should l earn someth ing of the hiddenk n o w l e d g e ; nor w ha t port ion o f h o p e s
an d fears, wild exc i tement , and
s t range, out-of- the -ord ina ry doings
should fall to him and others
when the sec re t was in pa r t m a d e
k n o w n .
INDOOR SPORTS AND
PASTIMES.
(Solutions to Puzzles and Problems, continued /rom p. 447.)
Th e solution to t ig. 8—the squa re
an d circles problem—is given be low:
In fig. 9 we ha d a ca r pen t e r i ng
T H E D E A D D O G S .
In Fi g . N o . 7 we saw two dogs of melan
cho ly a sp e c t ! Y o u have to make these dead
dogs live by the addi t ion of four lines, no
F I G . 7 .
m o r e and no less. Trace fig. 7 o n to a sheet
of paper and add the necessary lines as here
shown. I give here a useful " t i p " for
accurately copying • a n y design that m a y
appear in these puzzles. Place the open
page on which the design appears agains t
th e window an d place a sheet of pap er over
i t . You will find that the design can no w be
easily seen t h r ough the pape r and very
easily t raced.
/ 1 1
/ i z
\ V 2
2 1
\ 1 1 /
F I G . 9 A .
problem: H ow t h is can be solved will be
seen from the a c c o m p a n y i n g diagrams.
Fig. 10. The Shakespea r ean q u o ta t io n
o \ ° o
— " " o
o o \ o
formed by the addi t ion of three matc hes t o
t he o t he r five, i s — " A l i t t le m o r e than kin
an d less t han kind " (Hamlet),
Correct solutions to these problems have-
been rece ived from E d w in W a t s o n , F . L i d d l e ,
J . T . W a t s o n , A . H e w i t t , H. M. W i l m o t ,
J. H . Fr eeman , V . F. B o w e n , F. Hamilton^
an d H o w a r d R i d g e .
Correspondence.
F i a . 8. F I G . 9 B .
A. PRIDHAM.—Kelantan is one of the Malay State*that became British in 1909. It contains about
5000 square miles, and is on the east coa st of the
Malay Peninsula. Trengganu is another Malay
state that became British in 1909 by the treaty o fr
Bangkok. Its area is about 6000 square miles. It
is also on the South China Sea and is about 200 miles-east of Penang.
H. S. C.—George the Third crowns of 1820 are worthfifteen shillings each if in good preservation. W e
do not value stamps, and we do not give the namesof dealers.
T. C. and S. B.— No licence is necessary at present for
private installations of wireless telegraphy, but
proposals have been made to that effect.
G. SMITH.—Attend evening classes in electricity or
get some elementary book on the subject. It is of
no use interfering with what you do not understand.Such information cannot be given in the small spaceat our disposal in this column.
C . A S K E W . — I t is one of the old election mugs, of which
there were man y. They are of no value whendamaged. Tho Liddell was probably Henry Thoma s,
member for Liverpool, who afterwards became Earl
of Ravensworth.
A REG ULAR SUBSCR IBER TO THE "B.O.P."—Write to
Dr. Budge at the British Museum and he will tell
you all about it.
J. R . DENMAN.—There are no George the Third penniesof 1777. Those of 1797 are wdrth a shilling. See
answer to H . S . 0.
DELIA.—Thank you for your " scotch," as you call it,
but it does not give the particulars necessary for
identification. If the coin is gold it is a half-guinea.
THEO. HuXNiSETT.—Your kind appreciation of the
serials is very welcome. There are even betterstories in preparation, as you will see.
W. SULLIVAN (Sydney, K . S . W . ) . — W e have a special
" Boy's Own Column " for such announcements as
yours. The price for insertion of notices is Gd. for
12 words and id . for each additional word. W e will
gladly print your request on these terms if you will
observe the conditions.
I N Q U I R E R . — " W h o Wins ? " by Rev. A. Allen Brock-
ington did not appear in the *' B.O.P." It ran
through part of vol. 2 6 (1904-5) of "Young
England."
COLLECTOR.—The " World-wide Emblem of Fraternal.
Goodwill," for philatelists, is supplied by Erringtonand Martin, South Hackney, K . B . It is in the*form of a watch-chain pendant.
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480 The *Bojr f
s Otvn Taper.
PAT WANTED SOME.
W H I L E a drove of bullocks were being driven froman Irish village to a fair, one of t he animals sudden lystopped, and, notwithstanding all the efforts of thedrover, would not move on its way. A chemist whohappened to see the affair went up'to the bullock andinjected a drug down its throat, which had the effectof making the animal career rapidly down the street.
About five minutes afterwards the drover enteredthe chemist's shop, wiping the perspiration off hishead, and asked the man behind the counter if he wasthe party who gave the bullock the medicine.
" I am," said the chemist.
'* Well," said Pat excitedly, " I'll take a pennyworthof it—I've got to follow the baste 1 "
WELL SPENT.
IN a volume on India, by the H on. Robert Palmer,appears a cricketing story which may have been toldbefore, but is quite good enough to be repeated.
A clergyman, who was head-master of a nativeseminary, introduced cricket into his school to fostera manly spirit, and the boys got quite keen on it.Gradually he evolved a team and arranged a matchwith a neighbouring school. He told his team th atthey must work their hardest to win, and to encouragethem he gave them fifteen rupees to spend on new batsor whatever would be most useful.
When the day came the team turned out for thematch full of quiet confidence, but with all their oldaccoutrements.
" Why," asked the padre, " what h ave you donewith those fifteen rupees I gave you ? "
" Well, sir," replied the captain, " we thought it
best to spend it all on the umpire."They won.
BROUGHT ONE BACK.
T H E R E are many good stories about young fellowswho have gone " gunning " for bear and not achievedthe expected results. W e all know the yarn of thehunter who kept on the heels of his quarry until thetrail became " too thunderin' fresh " for him and wasconsequent ly abandone d. H ere is another equallygood.
Dave had been boasting for days of what he woulddo when th ey struck the woods—the boys' camp wasin the Adirondacks. When he sallied out after breakfast one day, therefore, with his Winchester slungover his back his chums reckoned on a big " bag. "
" It '11 be a cold day if I don't bring back a bearwith me," said Dave.
The others stayed in or near the camp and sawnothing more of Dave until about an hour beforesundown, when a cloud of dust some distance up the
trail suddenly resolved itself into their missing companion.
The dust-cloud was moving rapidly and hit thecamp like a cyclone a few minutes later.
M Hello ! Dave 1 " was the cry. " Where's thebear ? "
" I'm—bringing—him—back 1 " was the gaspingreply. " I—said—I—would ! "
And the youthful hunter passed through on hismad career, while in his wake there followed a very
ONLY ONE.
A LAUGHABLE story is told of Professor Agassiz,the great naturalist. It was a question whether ascientific man would make a good husband, but thisgreat scientist gave his wife no cause to complain.However, it was admitted that she had to put up withmany queer things.
One morning the professor's wife was putting onher boots. Her screams aroused her husband, who,not having risen, leaned forward anxiously on hiselbow to learn the cause. He inquired what was thematter.
" Why, a little snake has just crawled out of myboot! " cried she.
" Only one, m y dear ? " asked th e professor, calmlylying down aga in; " there should have been three.I put them there to keep them warm."
NOT SO BADLY OFF.
FOWL-FANCIERS will appreciate the following.A gentleman had ordered a consignment of a dozenBuff Orpingtons from a breeder, and a crate duly
arrived. Unfortunately, the messenger sent with
the fowls opened the crate too soon and allowed theinmate s to escape. All bu t two or three dispersedthemselves among neighbouring fowl-runs.
The luckless owner spent several hours retrievinghis treasures and eventually his fowl-house closed itsdoor on a collection of angry, cackling and flurriedBuff Orpington s. Then he wrote an indignant letter
to the breeder complaining of the careless way inwhich the birds had been delivered.
" Up to the present," he said, " I have managed to
get back ten of them."" You haven't done so badly," wrote the fowl-
dealer in reply, " I only s ent yo u eight in th at consignment ! "
merry heart
goes all
the day,
Your sad
tires in
a
mile-a."
(Shakespeare.)
OUR
PRIZE COMPETITIONAWARDS.
F O O T B A L L C O M P E T I T I O N .
(Continued from p. 4-18.)
No. 4 . — A Song of Football.
Prise Football Winner,
L. 0 . P. CHEVENS, 12 Marischal Road, Lee, S . E .
Consolation Prizes.
A. E . E A S T , Victoria House, Eirchingtoa, Kent;
AI . 0 . W A L K E K , 2 8 Park Road, Upper Baker Street,
Regent's Park, N .W . ; W. H. McNAIR, Myrtle
Bank, 1 13 Ilolmc Road, West Bridgtord, Notts.
Hon. Mention.
W. R. L. Fox (no address).
No. 5.—Hum orou s Verses : " Whe n Tubby
Kept Goal."
Prize Football Winner.
J O H N S. MITCHELL, 15 Lindum Terrace, Rotherham,
Yorkshire.
Consolation Prizes.
E D W A R D P. PO O L E , 2 0 Harlestone Road, St.
James's, Northampton; W. MUCKERSIE, Merleton,Dollar, Clackmannanshire; W. H. MONAIR, MyrtleBank, 14 3 Holme Road, West Bridgtord, Notts.;
W . SLAUGHTER, 7 7 New Street, Halstoad, Ess ex;EDWARD BOWDEN, 53 Chapel Street, Hazel Grove, near
Stockport.
Hon. Mention.
W I L L I A M K. TAYLOR, 3 3 Brooklands Road, Burnley ;W. E. BURROTTGH, CJewer HiM, Windsor; CECIL P .B A T 0 0 C K , Hillcroft, Colchester Terrace, Essex Road,
Leyton ; A L E X . W. THOMSON, Balbirnie, 4 0 OaklandsRoad, Bexley Heath, Kent.
No. 6. —Pen-and-ink Design for a
Pictorial Heading.
Prize Football Winner.
CHARLES E. M O X O N , 36 Daniel Hill, Upperthornc.
Sheffield.
Consolation Prizes.
A L A N H . CLEGG, 8 Durham Street, Albert Road,
Halifax; J O H N PLANT, 20 Hulme Street, Salford,
Manchester; A. MORRIS, 41 Marlborough Road,
Upper Holloway, N . ; F R E D PHILLIPS, 127 York Road,
Montpelier, Bristol.
Hon. Mention.
JAMES STIRLING, 30 Primrose Street, Ailoa.Scotland ;J. H . FLETCHER, 0 7 Clonmell Road. Philip Lane, South
Tottenham; W. G. M A C K I E , Willesdcne, Newlands,Glasgow; J . M I L L W O O D , 6 Chumleigh Street, AlbanyRoad, Camberwell, S.E.
No. 7. -Pen-and-ink Sketch of
Centre-Forward."
Our Heavy
Prize Football Winner.
ALAN H . CLEGG, 8 Durham Street, Albert Road,
Halifax.
Consolation Prizes.
WILFRED STANCOMBE, 3 Briercliife Road, Burnley •JOHN PLANT, 2 0 Hul me Street, Salford, Manchester-J A M E S STIRLING, 3 0 Primrose Street, A lloa, ScotlandWILLIAM HURTON, 1 3 Newdigate Road, Coventry -J. H. FLETCHER, 0 7 Clonmell Road, Philip Lane,
South Tottenham.
Hon. Mention.
CHARLES E . MOXON, 3 0 Daniel Hill, Upperthorpe
Sheffield; W. G. MACKIE, Willesdenc, Newlands
Glasgow; EDGAR A . L E W I S , 5 2 Pillebrook Road,
Leytonstone.
No. 8.—Pen-and-ink Sketch of scene :
" Well Collared, Sir ! »
Prize Football Winner.
WELLWOOD THOMPSON, 3 1 Albion Street, Leicester.
Consolation Prizes.
R. ADAMS, 7 Ravenstone Road, Stratford, E ;
ARTHUR J ON E S , Whitecliffc, Coleford, Gloucester.
Hon. Mention.
ALAN H. CLEGG, 8 Durham Street, Albert Road,Halifax; W I L F R E D STANCOMBE, 3 Briercliife Road,
Burnley : CHARLES E . M O X O N , 3 0 Daniel Hill, Upperth Sh ffi ld