Boys Own Paper 12th April 1913

8/9/2019 Boys Own Paper 12th April 1913

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NO. 28, VOLUME XX XV .] S A T U R D A Y , A P R I L 1 2 , 1 9 1 3 .P r i c e O n e P e n n y .

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]

U n d e r the E d g e of the E a r t h

A S t o r y o f T h r e e C h u m s a n d a S t a r t l i n g Q u e s t .By F. H. BOLTON,

Author of " In the Heart of the Silent Sea," etc.

C H A P T E R I I I . — A N E C C E N T R I C " W I Z A R D . "

1 Kenned y unceremon iousl y rushed into Morris's study before bell-ringing, wit h a morning

daily in his hand."

r | I H E newspape rs of the da y fol lowing Mr .

X Bra n t ' s declaration had apparent ly no

reference to any catastrophe in the States,

and one or two b o y s were inclined to treat

the who le affair as so mu ch vapo urin g.

Lef roy suggeste d, in the presence of a few

cronies, that the Wiz ard had " fallen on

his fac e in his efforts to ove rta ke hims elf. "

But the more cautious shook their heads.

I n the i r opinion the master never spoke

without his b o o k ; he knew what he wasspeaking about, even if his hearers were not

alway s clear on the poin t.

" I don ' t know that we oug ht to want a

roaring big accident in America or anywh ere

else, just to make the Wizard c o m e out on

t o p , " said one . " But then , that i sn ' t th e

quest ion. He says there 's b en one, and I' m

not goi ng to doub t or dispute it yet a bit. "

W h i c h wa s pre t ty generally the sen timent

of th e rest of the F or m.

W hen, therefore, on the morni ng of the

da y after, Ken ned y unceremoniou sly rushed

into Morris's study before bell-ringing, with

a morning daily in his hand, both Morris

and H u t t o n were quite prepared for his

first words, and the r e ma rk — " I say, y ou

chaps, bothered if there hasn' t b ee n ! " —

di d not sound at all vague or disconnected

to their anticipating ears.

Flingi ng his bo oks up on the table, the

lad excite dly unfo lded his pape r and b egan

to read, the other tw o look ing ov er his

shoulders and confirming for themse lves

the details he gab ble d forth. In the midst

of this the doo r was unce remo niou sly flung

open once more , and a further detachment

of the Sixth (day-bo ys and boarders) t ro oped

into the room.

" Com e in," grinned Hu tto n, as the reader

sto ppe d; " don' t t rouble to knoc k ! "

" Say, you fe l low s , " drawled Lef roy;

" the Wizard was right after all! "

" Of course he was," replied Hu tto n;

" tel l us something we don 't kn ow ."

" Wou ld, i f poss ible; but you're too

cute, Hutto n, m y boy ! Maybe you can tell

us how he came to be r ight ."

Th ere was a lau gh ; then Morris inter

posed.

" All yo u cuckoos shut up ," he said, " or

clear ou t! We want to hear the whole

particulars. Go on, Kenned y."





IN THE OLDEST CITY IN THE: WORLD.4 3 5

D a m a s c u s o f T o - d a y a n d Y e s t e r d a y .

DA M A S C U S is the oldest city in the world

that has had a cont inuous hi s tory .

Because of its great age and vi ta l i ty it

ma y appropr ia te ly be called the " Mot he r

City of the W o r l d . " It has been ruled

by Syrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and

Turks , and it h as l ived and f lourished

under them all. N o fewer than twelvetimes it has been pillaged and burned, yet

it has always arisen with new beauty f rom

its ashes. It is the head of Syr ia now,

as in Isa iah 's t ime.

By HAROLD J. SHEPSTONE.

remains. R o m e has been cal led the

Ete rn a l C i t y , but D am as cus is t w i ce as

ol d as R o m e . I ts his tory runs back to the

beginning of the w or l d , and bids fair t o

go on to its end.

T h e n it is remarkable for its as tonishing

vi ta l i ty . It has l ived through all these

long centur ies , and no historian has yethad the oppor t un i t y t o wri te of its decl ine

and fall. Its s treets have been stained

wi th the b l o o d of its de f ende r s , an d its

defences have been reduced ; bu t it never

everything requi red in the general l i fe o f

th e Ea s t . P e o p l e of many races, men and

w om en in all picture sque costu mes, str ings

of camels, donke ys with cradle saddles,

Arabian horses and d o g s , throng the

streets. These bazaars are a sort of

gathering-place for the people of different

nat ional i t i es , and an excel lent p lace t oge t an i dea of Oriental l i f e , charac ter ,

dress, business and social l i fe .

Then D am as cus is des t ined t o p l ay an

impor tant part in the hi s tory of the Ea s t .

Courtyard of a Private Residence, Damas cus.

[Photos by AM ERICAN COLONY, Jerusalem.

Reception Room, Damascu s.

I t stands on an extensive plain, on the

edge of a sandy desert . Th e ci ty and the

plain are watered by the R i ve r s A bana

an d Pharpar . The A bana runs t h r ough

the ci ty, the Phar par is some miles away

to th e south. Some dis tance b e l o w the

ci ty they unite. Da mascu s is 133 miles

in a st ra ight line f rom Jerusalem, 70 miles

f rom Be y rout by wa y of the carriage-road,

an d 90 miles by rail. It is a ci ty which

ha s an interest for all, apart f rom its

Bible history. It is noted for m a n y re-

markable things.

First, there is its antiquity. When

Abraham crossed the desert f rom H a ra n ,

4,000 years ago, the c i t y was al ready

s tanding on the banks of the A b a n a ,

an d no one can tell h o w long it had

stood there before that t ime, for its or igin

is lost in the mists o f ant iqui ty . " B aby

lo n is a heap in the desert , and T y r e a

ru in on the s ho r e , " but Damascus st i l l

became an utter desola t ion. It has had

vital i ty to l ive through all these sieges and

all these years. It is n o w the largest ci ty

in the Ea s t , except Cai ro in E g y p t .

D am as cus is n o w , and has always been,

a rich and prosperous c i ty . I t was so in

Bible t imes. Isaiah writes of the " r i c h e s

of D a m a s c u s , " and the t raveller to-day

ma y see long t rains of camels laden with

all kinds of merchandise l eading Damas

cus, going down to E g y p t or ou t to B ey-

rout , wh ere they ar e s h i pped t o other

shores. Damascus is r ich, and a centre of

t r ade for all the Ea s t . I ts bazaars are the

most famous in the world . These bazaars

ar e a series of shops for the sale of

art icles, and in some cases fo r the manu

fac ture of them. Eac h bazaar is devo t ed

t o a part icular class of goods . T h e y are

famous for the i r t reasures of si lk, carpets,

saddles, si lver and gold ornaments, sl ip

pers, sword blades, rare w o o d s , and almost

I t is the cent re of a ne t w or k of ra i lways .

I t alrea dy boasts of t h re e rai lway stat ions,

and when the Bagdad l ine has reached the

Euphra tes , Damascus wil l be in ra i lway

communicat ion wi th Cons tant inople and

Eur ope , as wel l as with Pales t ine and

Arabia . Damasc us , moreover , is not only

the oldest, bu t the newest of cit ies. It wa s

the first in Bible lands t o have electr ic

t r ams and electr ic l ight .

I t i s certainly one of the most beautiful

ci t ies in its s i tua t ion. Imagine a mag

nificent plain, well watered and fert i le, in

the midst of a deser t , cover ing an area of

more than t h i r t y miles in ci rcumference ,

sur rounded on nearly al l sides b y high

hi l l s—imagine th i s vast plain in a high

state of cul t iva t ion, one vast garden o f

frui t t rees of almo st eve ry spec ies, fields

of grain, nearly ever y variety of flower,

and the ever-present murmur of running

streams. Situated abo ut the m i dd l e of

[this



4 3 6 The Hoy's Obvn Paper.

[Photos byAMERI CAN COLONY, Jerusalem.

A Crowde d Street in Damas cus. Moh amme dan To mbs in the Meidan, Damascu s.

The dome in the distance covers the to mb of Moham med's daughter, Pa timeh.

W a l l of Dam as cus whe re St. Paul is said to have been let dow n in a Th e Traditiona l Hou se of Anani as, Dama scus ,

basket.



In the Oldest City in the World. 4 3 7

this plain, and buried in this fores t of

grass and grain and trees and sparkling

streams, a city of 150,000 peop le, with its

hundreds of whi te minarets, gi lded domes ,

and crowded bazaars—that is Da ma s c u s ,

beautiful indeed for situation.

It undoub tedl y owes i ts beauty , vital i ty,

and wealth to the River Abana, which

rises in Leb ano n some twen ty miles away.

Before it reaches Damascus it is d i v i d e d

into six artificial chann els (th e main one

about fifty feet wide) , running t h r o u g h

th e hear t of the city. Pipe s are led fr om

it to every par t , so that every mosq ue and

house and cour t has its founta in , a nd

every where you go amid g rove s or garden s

or public resorts, or retired nooks , you

may see and hear th e mu rmu r of swif t ly-

flowing an d sp ark lin g streams, an d this

abundance of clear, co ld water is one of

the charms of the city. Th is is the river

of whic h Naam an sp oke wit h such pri de,

when he said : " Are not Abana and Phar

par, rivers of Da ma s c u s , better than all

th e waters of I s r a e l ? " and he was r ight ,

so fa r as beauty and usefulness are con

cerned.

Damascus is ment ioned many t imes inthe Bib le, both in the Old and N e w

Testament . In th e la t ter i t comes before

us in connect ion wi th the convers ion of

St . Pa u l . Tr a d i t i o n has loca l i sed every

event conn ecte d with the Apo stl e. Out

s ide , on the Damascus road, five miles

f rom the c i t y , is pointed out the place

where St. Paul had the vis ion which so

chan ged the co urse of his l i fe . T h e r e is

the gate, stil l standing, wh e r e he entered

b y the Eo ma n road into the city . The re

is the street called " S t r a i g h t , " the v e r ystreet ment ioned in connect ion wi th

St . Pa u l ' s convers ion , changed, of course ,

proba bly rebui l t , but still t he street s p o k e n

of in A c t s as th e " s t r e e t wh i c h is cal led

Str a igh t . " I t is to-day a mile long, be

ginning at one end of the leading gates

of the city and running f r o m east t o west .

Th e n Da ma s c u s is a c i t y of mo s q u e s ,

baths, and founta ins . Cl im b on to the

roof of any dwelling and you are in a se a

of minare ts , while all around y ou are row s

upon ro ws of what look s all the wo rld l ike

t u r n e d - d o wn s a u c e r s ; these are the Arab

baths. Th er e are t w o hu ndr ed and fifty

mo s q u e s in the city , the most impo rtan t

being the Great Mo sque , grea t in size and

grea t in reputa t ion . Th e ground upo n

wh i c h i t s tands ha s a grea t his tory . On

this spot stood the H o u s e o f R i m m o n ,

where Naama n worsh ipped. W he n Da-

mascu s was under Rom an rule, Constan

tino erected on this site a beaut i fu l

Christ ian church, dedica ted to Jo h n the

Bapt is t . The n, when Damas cus fe l l in to

the hands of the Turk s , they conver ted

this Christ ian church in to a mosque, ob

l i terat ing everyth ing about i t that had a

t race of Christ ian i ty . They c losed the

door by which the Christ ians entered, andp u t up other bui ld ings in f ront of it.

Some few years ago this grea t mo s q u e ,

to the regre t of the whol e c iv i l i sed wor l d ,

was burned d own in a s ingle d a y .

Strange to say , however , the old d o o r

escape d the confla gration , and no one was

more surpr ised than the M o h a m m e d a n s

themselves to read over i ts portal these

wo r d s f rom the Psa lms : " T h y k i n g d o m ,

O Christ , is t h e k i n g d o m o f all the a ges,

and Thy dominion endureth t h r o u g h o u t

a l l genera t ions . " T h e mo s q u e was re-

bui l t , but the Mosl ems, be ing super

sti t ious, feared to tamper with the o ld

door and its sacred inscriptio n, and so left

it, and i t can be seen t o this d a y , a re-

mi n d e r that M o h a m m e d a n rule has not

always been supreme in the Mo t h e r C i t y

of t h e Wo r l d .

THE SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY

FOOTBALL TEAM.

S o m e R e c o r d s o f a M e m o r a b l e T o u r .

I H E South Af

r i c a n Ru g b y

football team

which toured

this c o u n t r y

last season ac

compl ished a

feat which

no other Colonial team

has ever achieved, inas-

dflk ~y0 mu c h as they defeated

^El^^k la England, Scotland, Ire-

^ B | | E ? W land, Wale s and Franc e,

^ ^ ^ ^ t A Even the famous Ne w

' ~^%S& Zealand side of 1905-6

was unable t o equal this

record, although they lost but one match,

which wa s against Wales . The previous

South African team of 1906-7, which was

only defeated thrice, lost t o Scot land anddrew with England. The Australian team

"of 190 8-9 does not qualify in a compar ison

of International matches, as they did not

visit either Scotland or Ireland. I t is a fine

record, and W . A. Millar, the Sout h A fric an

captain, is to be heartily congratulated on

the success of his m en .

The success which they achieved must b e

all the more welcome in vie w of the varied

manner in which the team was crit icised.

Some of the Sou th Afriear authorities were

somewhat severe in their strictures o n the

selected players, and in the first few m atc hes

of the tour there were writers w h o utter ly

omit ted t o take into consideration the fact

that the visitors had recently landed after

a three weeks' voy age from South Africa.

It was only natural that the form which theyshowed then was nothing com par ed with the

fine perfor mance s which they achi eve d in

their later games .

But , in spite of their great record , the

South African team of 1912-13 does no t

compa re—so far, at least, as its three-quarters

By W. LIVINGSTONE IRWIN.

were conce rned— with the previous side of

1906-7 . I t did not contain three-quarters

of the calibre of W . A. Loubser , of J. P.

Krige, or J. G. Hirsch, although J. W. Morkel

was no t far behind those great players .

I t is strange t ha t W . J. Mills did not play

in any of the International matches . A t

half-bac k the team was well serv ed by F. P .

Luyt and F. J. Do b b i n , t he la t ter a vete ran

of the former tour , an d J. D. M'Cul loch

a nd J. H. I mme l ma n , if n o t grea t players ,

were safe and equal t o any emergency.

A t ftijl-back G. P. Morkel was a wonderful

k ick wi th either foo t and fielded the ball well,

but his tackli ng was not his stron g poin t.

J . J. Meintjes had hard lines in being injur ed

so often, and only to ok par t in four games.

D . F. T. Morkel showed himself equal t o

the oc cas ion when he t o o k the full-back

p o s i t i o n .The forwards were a grea t p a c k in e v e r y

wa y , scrummaging , dr ibbl ing , and pass ing

with equal skil l . The y were a speed y body of

men, although there have been faster forwards ,

n o t a b l y the Scottish pack of 1901 or the

N e w Zealan d men . Th ey also did excelle nt

work at the l ine-out, where they frequent ly

made opportunities for their outs ides .

Wh e n the y first cam e ov er to this count r j -

the softness of the gro und ma de their foo t

work far more difficult than on the hard

surfaces in South Africa, but they rose

t r iumphant o v e r these obstac les in such

a way that they mu st now be looked upon

as one of the best packs of al l t ime. A s

the Field o b s e r v e d in a leading article :

" The demonst ra t ion t ha t South Africa can

prod uce such men, as well as the hardy andcourageous winners of the Marathon race

at St ockholm , has an Imperial significance

which might even com men d footbal l as a

subjec t for Mr . Kipl ing ' s encomiums. "

The South African captain, in an interesting

interview, said that the backs of his side

were, on the who le, no t so g o o d as those of

the former side, but that the forwards were

mu c h better . H e especially singled ou t

Va n Vuure n, W . H. Morkel , D . F. T. Mork el,

and A. S. K n i g h t . R . J . Luyt had only

r e p r o d u c e d his home form o n o ne or t w o

o c c a s i o n s ; J . W. Morkel had sh own the

best form of the three-quar ters ; J . A .

Stegmann and E . M'H ard y had been grea t

successes ; F. J. Do bbi n never reprodu ced

his form of the previous tour , a n d J . D .

M'Cul loch did not get much of a c h a n c e .

G. P . Morke l had pla yed abo ve his Sou th

Afr ican form, but J. J. Meintjes had be en

on ly modera te . G. M. Wren tmore d id not

play often becau se of injury, while W. A.

Krige was erratic .

" Wales was the best International team

we p l a y e d , " we n t on Mr. Mil lar , "wi th

En g l a n d a good second. We beat Englandb y our superior weight and strength forward .

Scotland did not play to their backs enough,

but depende d too much on their f o r wa r d s —

no doub t thinking of the 1906 ga me . Ireland

p r o v e d a poor team against us, and even

then one could not judge their merits, as the

g r o u n d was so frozen and the I r i shmen

would no t g o ' all out. ' The Frenc h are

go ing to be v e r y good in a year or t w o .

There is n o compar ison of their play with

that of six years a go.

" R . W . Po ult on is the finest cen tre three-

quar ter we have p layed against, while

R . F . Williams, the Welsh full back, is the

best we have met . Glyn Gethin, of Neath,

runs him very close, howe ver , and should

h a v e a great future. Glyn Stephens , of

Neath , is a fine forward, an d he occurst o m y mi n d as on e of the greatest in

the count ry . Both the 'Varsity captains,

J . E . Gr e e n wo o d a n d L. G. Br o wn , are

magnificent forwards, and two of the best

in England.

"J. A. Kin g, of Yorksh ire, despite his lack



4 3 8 The Hoy's Otvn Taper.

24

of s tature , is wonderful , and apparently

never tires, while I retain memories of two

or three brilliant Scottish forwar ds. W . J. A.

D a vies , H . W. Thom as , T. H . Vile and

V . H . M. Coate s are all splend id, and we

shall not forget the m readily . Thes e are

bu t a few of the fine player s we hav e met

during our tour."

The comple te results of the tour were as

fol lows : — For

Opponents Eesult G-. T. P.

Somerset won 3 3

Devon won 1 1

Cornwall won 0 5

Monmouthshire won 2 2 16

Glamorgan won *f 4 6 35

Llanelly won 1 1 8

Newport lost 0 1 3

London won f2 1 12

Army and Navv won 3 1 18

East Midlands." won f3 0 14

Oxford University . . . . won 0 2

Midland Counties . . . . won 2 5

Cambridge University.. won *4 2

London lost f t2

0

North of England . . . . won 1 4

SCOTLAND won 2 2

Glasgow and District.. won f 6 3

I R E L A N D won 4 6

Ulster won 2 3

North of England .. . . won f2 4

W A L E S won *1 0

Neath won 1 1

Cardiff won <t 2 0

Swansea lost 0 0

Gloucestershire won 1 2

E N G L A N D won »» 2 1

P R A N C E won *B 5

AgainstG. T. P.

0 1 3

8 0 0

15 »» 2 0

16 0 0

35 0 1

8 t l 1

3 i s 0

12 1 1

2 2

25

24

8

17

16

38

38

1!)

21

3

87

0

11

9

38

I 0

0 0I

I 1

0 0

0 10

0 0

0 0

0 1

0 0

0 0

1

00

» 1

00

0

1

Total . . 56 61 441 14 13 101

* A penalty goal, t A dropped goal.

X A mark goal.

The fol lowing table giv es the nu mbe r of

times each memb er of the team pla yed, a nd

the sco res whic h he made :—

PlavedG. P. Morkel 21 .

R . J. Luyt 19 .

W. A. Millar 19 .

D . F. T. Morkel 19 .

J. A. Francis 19 .

J. D. Luyt 19 .

F. P. Luvt 18 .

W . H. Morkel 18 .

A. S. Knight 18 .

E. McHardy 17 .

J. A. Stegmann 17 .

T. Van Vuuren 17 .

J. W Morkel 17 .

E. H. Shum 15 .

G. Thompson 15 .

Tries

0 . .

8 . .

2 . .

4 . .

4 . .

1 . .

3 . .

7 . .

1 . .

20 . .

13 . .

2 . .

6 . .

2 . .

0 . .

Goals. . 10

. 1

Played Tries Goals

S. FT. Ledger 15 2 0

E. Delaney 13 0 0

J. PJ. Immelman 1 3 2 0

W. J. Mills 1 2 9 0

F. J. Dobbin 1 2 2 0

L. H. Louw 12 1 . . . . 0

J. S. Braine 11 0 0

J. D. McCulloch 11 . . . . 0 . . . . 0

G. M. Wrentmore 10 . . . . 3 7

W. A. Krige 9 2 . . . . 1

O. Van der Hoff 8 10 0

8. N. Cronj6 7 . . . . 1 0

J. J. Meintjes 4 0 0

Of the goal s whic h were kick ed by D. F. T .

Morkel eight were from penalties, and goals

were dropped by J. W . Mork el (2), G. M.

Wren tmor e (2) , W . A. Krige (1), and R. J.

Luyt (1) . Of the players who took the

goal -k icks f rom tr ies D. F. T. Morkel kicked

sevent een from fif ty-two attempts , G. P.

Morkel kic ked ten out of nineteen, F. P. Luy t

si x out of eleven, G. M. Wre ntm ore five out

of nine, J. W . Mork el four out of eleven,

and R. J. Luyt fai led at one shot .

A s the South Africans met nineteen sides

which had been op posed by one or more

prev ious Colonia l teams, the fol lowing com

par iso n of the score s is of interes t :—

New South Austra- SouthZealand Africans lians Africans

1905-6 1906-7 1908-9 1912-13

For Agst. For Agst. For Agst. For Agst.

Somerset . . 23 0 . . 14. 0 . . 8 0 . . 24 S

Devon 55 4 . . 22 -6 . . 24 3 . . 8 0

Cornwall . . 41 0 . . 9 3 . . 18 5 . . 15 6

Monmouth . . . . 17 0 16 0

Llanelly . . 16 3 . . 3 8 . . 8 7

Glamorgan . . 9 0 . . 6 3 . . 16 3 . . 35 3

Newport 6 3 . . 8 0 . . 5 3 . . 3 9

N a v y & A r m y — — . . — — . . 8 6 . . 18 16

East Midlands • . . 3 7 0 14 5

Oxford Univ. 47 0 . . 24 3 . . 19 3 . . 6 0

Midlands 21 5 . . 29 0 25 3

Camb. Univ. 14 0 . . 29 0 . . 11 9 . . 24 0

SCOTLAND . . 12 7 . . 0 6 . . — — .-. 16 0

TRELAND 15 0 . . 15 12 38 0

W A L E S 0 3 . . 11 0 . . 6 9 . . 3 0

Cardiff 10 8 . . 0 17 . . S 21 . . 7 6

S wan sea . . : . 4 3 . . — — . . 0 6 . . 0 3

Gloucestershire . . 23 0 . . 16 0 . . 11 0

E N G L A N D . . 15 0 . . 3 3 . . 9 3 . . 9 3

The fol lowing are the recor ds of the fo ur

Colonial team s which hav e visited th ese

shores in r ecen t yea r s : —Points.

P. W. L. D. For Agst.

New Zealand (1905-6) . . 33. .32. .1. .0 . . 832 39

South Africans (1906-7) 28 .. 25 .. 2. .1 . . 553 81

Australians (1908-9) 30 .. 24 .. 5. . 1 . . 425 141

South Africans (1912-13) 27. .24 . .3 .. 0 . . 441 101

MALOO, THE ABORIGINAL..

A Yarn o f No r t h Qu e e n s l a n d .

By HASTINGS DRAPER.

P A R T n .

HE t w o explorers

col lected and packed

up their tool s in the

swag, which Maloo

carried this t ime,

while Jack took

char ge of the sack and its

precious contents. The

weight of the la t ter greatly

distressed hi m on the

downward journey along

the dizzy ledge, where

Jack ha d a hard fightwith himself to repel the insistent horrible

thought of a leap from the narrow strip

of rock upon which he was standing.

W h e n they had got half-way down the

perilous descent he felt that he could fight

against it no longer, so sat down where

the ledge was somewha t broader to col lect

his faculties and regain his strength.

" Missus '11 be plenty glad see so much

go ld stuff, B o s s , " said Maloo.

Ja c k ' s mind at this remark instantly

reverted to the prize which repo sed in the

sack lying at his side and to the joy of his

wife if he returned home safely with it.

This dispelled the dangerous thoughts which

ha d taken such possession of h i m ; he

s tar ted up exclaiming : " You 're right , Ma-

/ >o ! I feel a new man at the bare thought of

h o w glad the Missus will be when we returnand sho w her what we' ve brough t hom e. "

An d with a gay laugh he cont inued his

c l imb down the mountain closely fol lowed b y

the black b oy whose life in the scrub had

render ed him seemingl y obliv ious to fatigue.

W h e n they had nearly reached the tall

bunya tree where they had left " Warr ior ,"

Jack was startled at hearing sounds of

crashing bushes and a loud neighing.

Breakin g his way rapidly throu gh the scru b

to the spot he sa w a Chinaman who had

r e mo v e d the hob ble from " Warrior " and,

having saddled and bridled the horse, was

trying t o mount him ; but the animal was

plungin g and kick ing so violen tly that he was

unable to do it.

A s they came up, the would-be thief had at

last succeeded in getting one foo t in the

stirrup, and was swinging himself into the

saddle wh en the horse gave an upward leap

and, curvin g his bac k, buck ed so violen tly

that the Chinaman, after turning a somer

sault, alighted on his back with a dull thud.

He lay there gazing up at the sky with a

fixed stare, appare ntly quite obli vious to the

affairs of this earth.

" W e l l done, ' Warrior ' ! " exclaimed

Jack. " Serve him j o l ly well right, the

wretched horse-thief; he is evidently

stunned ; an d there he may lie until he

comes round ! We will push on, Maloo. I

don't care about camping in the neighbour

hood of that brute, dead or al ive."

" Shall us knock him on head to make

sure ? " said Maloo. " That Chinkey-man

on e bi g ye l low de bb il ; him kill us if he get

chance plen ty quick, and run away with

horse."

" No fear, Maloo ! m y Colt will take care

of the horse if we keep our e3*es and ears

open ; bu t it would be just as well to camp

later on, so we'll be off-—the sooner we get

h o me the better ." Saying whic h, Jack

carefully loaded up " Warr ior ," trten they

mou nte d and ro de off along the track left

by their outward jo urney, and, as the trailwas fresh and the moon was now taking th e

place of the sun, this was an easy matter.

Th e y did not stop until they reached their

ol d camp ing place on Bellinden Kcr, when

the} ' li t a fire and cooked a couple of large

dampers, boiled their billy-cans of tea and,

after opening a tin of corned beef, enjoyed

a well-earned supper. The y then wrapped

themselves in their blankets and Jack,

overcome b y the fatigues of the day, fell

off into a deep sleep. Jus t before daybreak,

however, he was awak ened by Maloo shaking

his shoulder and saying to him in a low tone :

" Boss, some fella followin' alonga our

track ; heard um scrub crackle do wn below.

P' raps Chinkey-man come life again and

want to try to ride one time."

A s further sleep was now ou t of the

question Jack lit a pipe and waited for

sunrise, when, after a hurried breakfast, they

saddled up and resumed their journey.

Ab o u t sunset they reached the homestead,

when JaGk had the pleasure of seeing his

wife run do wn the steps and greet him with

open arms almo st before he could get clear

of his horse, Maloo having slid down on the

offside.

After a hearty greeting Mrs. Gord on asked :

" Wel l , what l uck, Jac k ? Yo u ' v e brought

yourself back in safety—that's the main

thing."" See that small sack ? " said her husband

exultantly. " Wel l , that contains the real

genuine article."

" Yo u don ' t mean to sa y that 's all gold

in there ? " For reply Jack cut the cord

which held the sack to the saddle. It dropp ed



Maloo, the Aboriginal. 4 3 9

with a heavy thud upon the sandy path,

almost embedding itself through its weight.

" My word ! " excl aimed Mrs. Jac k, and

cou ld say no more, but fairl y bro ke d o wn .

•With her head on Jack's shoulder, she burst

into a paroxysm of tears.

" There, don' t cry, dear ! you' ll soon be

better off," said Jack. " I shall ride in to

•Cairns to-m orr ow mor nin g and take it to my

bankers ; last week they sent me a poli teintimation that I had slightly overdrawn

•my account—they won't do that again in a

hurry, I guess."

Tha t evening Jack saw Maloo, with his

arms folded behind his back, look ing at a

tro phy of aboriginal weapons which hung in

the dining-ro om for or

nament. There were

reed-like spears with

hardwood points, woom-

eras for slinging t hem,

small oval wooden

shields of light wood

with the tr ibal marks

u p o n them, boomerangs

and nulla-nullas.

" Well, Maloo, what

are yo u loo king at those

weapons for ? Yo u

m a y have the lot if

y o u like, or anything

w e have, considering

what you have done for

tie," said Ja ck.

" Only want nulla-

nulla, Boss," was the

answer.

Maft>o t h e r e u p o n

selected a good heavy

o n e and bo re it off with

a gratified look to his

little c amp in the corner

of the veranda. Now ,

a nulla-nulla i n a pra c

tised hand is a very for

midable weapon, being

a club of heavy hard

wood roughened at one

end, and swelling at the other to add weigh t,

an d then terminating in a sharp point.

W h e n Jack went to bed he slept heavily

that night owing to the fatigue of the last

fe w days ; but not so his wife. Visions of

their altered positi on no w that they had such

treasure, and of what they cou ld do with it,

kep t flitting t hro ugh her mi nd , and when to -

"wards morning she began to doze it was only

in a fitful way.

In one of these wakeful m ome nts she

not iced that th e moon had gone d o wn an d

that it had become very dark, with the ex

cept ion of a small red spark wh ich was appar

ently travelling s lowly round the r o o m an d

illuminatirig only the objects within two or

three inches of it. She kne w it could not be

a firefly, because fireflies g ive a phosphor

escent light, whereas this was a small red

o n e with a faint odour of burning wood.

T h e spark was now appr oachi ng the bed, and

close to it she could dimly see the shape of

a long skinny hand with cla w-li ke nails,and with this she ga ve a lo ud scre am.

Almost at the Bame mome nt a heavy dull

thud shook the room.

Jack, now wide awake, sprang from th e

bed, when a well-known vo ice cried, " Cot a

light, Boss ! "

Ja ck qui ckl y stre tched out his hand to the

side of the bed where the match-box was

kept, struck a match, and by its light saw

th e body of a Chin aman stret ched on t he

floor face downwa rds , one of his hands still

clutching a long knife which had stuck in

th e floor, while near the ot her han d was a

chest and after a min ute said : " Yo u hav en' t

done that, my bo y ! The way he's don e his

hair has saved his life, but I'll take good care

it doesn't his liberty."

T h e Chinaman, like most others in the

present day, instead of wearing his long

thick plaited queue d o wn his back had it

coi led in a circle round the top of his head,

and upon this coil Maloo ' s club had descended

but with such skillan d strength as to

k n o c k him sense

less.

Jack n ow got a

piece of sti ck, the end

of whi ch had still a

glowing ember . I n the

mi d d l e of the r o o m stood Maloo

with the nulla-nulla tig htly grasped

in his ha nd.

Jac k lit a candle, then turned

th e body of the Chinaman over on to his

b a c k , and at once recog nise d hi m as the

would-be horse-thief.

" Wh y, what's the meaning of this,

Maloo ? " cri ed he.

" Me woke up b y little noise among trees

near veranda and see Chinkey-man light piece

stick and come plent y little noise up steps

and go in Boss's bedroo m. Me get up and

follow J^m, just see him behind piecee

light, saw him knif e too, saw him go

into Boss's r o o m, so hit hi m muchee hard

o n to p of him head wit h nulla-nulla ; tink

me sent him back to Chinkey-land plenty

q u i c k ! "

Ja ck put his hand on the Chin aman' s

" T h e horse gave an upward leap and. curving hi s

back, bucked violent ly ." (See p. 438.)

stout cord with which he bound the still

insensible Chinaman hand and foot , an d

rou nd the arms and waist, to o ne of the

strong kitchen chairs, in a sitting position.

T h e Chinaman gradually recovered his

scatt ered senses, but seeing the hopelessness

of his case said never a w or d; he sat with

apparently stolid indifference.

Within an hour Jack had made all his

preparations for a journey to Cairns.

" War ri or " was harness ed to a light spri ng-

cart, a st urd y farm-hand helped lift the

Chinaman, still bound in the chair, into the

b a c k of the cart, whe re the farm-hand took

a seat by the si de of the pri soner ; and Jack,

after bidding a tender farewell to bis wife and



4 4 0 The "Boy's Otatn Taper.

depositing the sack with its precious contents

at his feet, dro ve off.

W h e n they reached the small hotel at

Four-Mile, Ja ck heard the gal lopi ng of horses

behin d him, and, turning, saw a sergeant of

police , a white constab le in khaki , and a

black-tracker, riding h a r d ; they pulled up

on reach ing the side of the cart, an d the

sergeant sa id:

" G o o d morn ing , Mr. Go rd on ! I see 3'ou

have got my man already trussed. We have

been after him for the last for tni ght ; he is

wanted badly in Cairns for the murder of

another China man; s tabbed him through

th e hear t when the unfortunate man was

at hom e with some friends. He and his

vic t im had quarrelled about money mat ters .

The murderer then bo l t ed from the house,

escaped his pursuers , and ' went- bush ,' and

this is the first that has been seen of him

since. W e tracke d him to your house,

where your wife gave us the story of his

cap tur e; so we rode after y ou as quickly as

w e c ould . If you don' t mind, we will leave

him in your cart as you seem to hav e trusse d

him up comfor tabl y, and we will ride with

y o u into Cairns as a guard of honour."

" All righ t," said Ja ck, " ve ry glad of

your co mpa ny . I 'd no idea I 'd got the

charge of such a celebrit y. Our blac k bo y

would have saved the gove rnment the

trouble and expens e of that Chinkey's pas

sage to Town svil le to be hanged if i t hadn ' t

been for his qu eue ."

W h e n they arrived in Cairns the prisoner

was duly handed over to the care of the

head jailer, and he finally disappeared from

Jack ' s vie w through the d o o r of the hi gh

galvanised-iron fence which surrounds the

prison.

Jack then called at his banker s and de

posited the small sack and its contents with

them to be conve rted into mone y, and th i s

ultimately enlarged Jack's banking acco unt

to the extent of abo ut three thousand

pounds .

" An d now, " said Jack to his joyful wife

upon hi s return hom e, " I mean t o purchase

an area of the land abo ve that cave which

will include the rock be low it. I shall als o

purchase part of the land where the stream

is at the foot of the rock and then set about

floating ' T he Maloo Gold Mining Company,

Limited, ' managing director Mr. Jack

Gordon , and principal shareholders Mr. and

Mrs. Ja ck G or don . A nd when we go t"o

allotment I don' t think we' ll forget Ma loo. "

T h e S o n o f sinA n a r c h i s t :

A T a l e o f S t r a n g e M y s t e r y a n d

W i l d A d v e n t u r e .

By W. A. B. CLEMENTS ON,

M.A.,

Author of

" A Couple of Scamps" etc.

fjj T E X T m orn ing B ob -

H tf^*^ ^̂ '7 a n (

l his tw o

[ i * ^ ? . f r iends gave the

—' s&SjS<v ^j £/X' * 7 / ^ < - others an ac-

V3Ks|)(3rfe^ JK count of the i r

/mL i t t l p t t i t ^ - T j m

i dn igh t adven tu re ,

tsM^'Xll w n

^c

^ > t hough true in

J s H | | w / / Hie main, was told

M O f If in a manner calcula ted

V'r^ I t o glor i fy themselves

and to dispara ge

Paolo . The y had heard som e one

whistling in the w o o d s near the river—

probab ly poach ers, but th ey were not in

the least frightened ; in spit e of these and

other alarms they had carried out their

l i t t le plan of creep ing into the ca mp and

start l ing Paolo . They admit ted that th e

latter challen ged the m, but said he was

nearl y scared out of his wits ; and when

in an unguarded mome nt Rona ld le t out

abo ut Paol o givi ng the alarm, it was unani

mous ly dec ided that the ne w tender foot was

not a success as a nigh t gua rd.

Paolo would not deny that he had felt

rather frightened, so B o b b i e and Co. ,

making the most of this admiss ion, gave him

no peace throu ghou t the day and lost no

opp ortu nity of chaffing him and playing

practical jokes upo n him. The rest of the

b o y s , led, as is usually the case , by the

noisiest member s of the troop , fo l low e d suit ,

and ragged Pa olo sp much that th e p o o r b o y

imagined he was really very unpopular with

his comp ani ons , which was far from being

t rue .

It is never pleasant to be u npopu lar,

and Paolo , who had always been made so

much of at home , felt i t very ke en ly ; he

did no t know that th e b o y s were only

fo l low ing Bobbie ' s lead and l o o k e d upon

ragging him as a new sort of gam e. A

couple of mont hs ago Paolo would have

taken it all very badly, and probab ly

C H A P T E R X I V . A D U E L .

retired to his t ent to we ep at suc h ill-

t rea tment ; b ut no w he had a differen t

spirit in him and he determined that he

would somehow rega in th e respec t of his

companions whatever it might cost . T hough

inwardly he was feeling most unhappy, he

appeared outwa rdly as bright as usu al; and

R o n a l d never suspected that anything was

wrong, for the other boys never ragged Paolo

m uch when he was by.

Paolo was not sorr y when ni ght ca me at

last , and all retired t o rest healthily tired

with the labours of the da y. He wanted

m uch to be allowed to go on guard o n c e

more t o show th e b o y s he was no t really

afraid of the dark , but Mr. Lan do r told

h im hi s turn would not c o m e again for

several days .

It was perhaps we ll for Paol o that he did

not have to watch again that night, for

thoug h he no w had pe ace from the annoy

ances of the da y, the dark ness bro ught its

o w n t r ials , which in the i r wa y were quit e as

bad.

Some time after all the b o y s had gone to

sleep Paolo awoke wondering where he was.

It was so stran ge l yin g on a sack stuffed

with straw, and to feel earwigs and beetles

crawling over him in the dark. He fancied

that he heard some one movi ng outside

close to the t ent and he held his breath an d

l is tened.

There was the sou nd of rustling in the grass

coming nearer and nearer t i l l i t stop ped,

and Paolo c o u l d hear somethi ng breathing,

close to the canv as. Sudde nly the thing

m o v e d away again as if start led ; it was the

mot ion of a human being crawling on hands

and knees, not of a quadruped. Pao lo

shivered with fright, but he kne w that if he awakened any one he would be more than

ever the laughing-stock of the whole c a m p ,

so he kept silence.

Presently he heard another sou nd ; it

was the soft step of the sentry on duty :

Paolo c o u l d see his shadow on the canvas

as he passed with his lantern. He watched

eagerly for the return of the light as it s

bearer patr olled the cam p ; sever al times ho

saw it return, but h e heard nothing more of

the crawling visitor wh o had alarmed h im,

and befor e lon g he fell asleep.

The next day mark ed a decided impro ve

ment in Paolo's popularity with the b o y s .

T h e y had found him a bright and agreeable

companion and b y no means lacking in

pluck and high spir its; his apparent

indifference t o their ragging of the prev ious

day had also helped to raise him in their

estimation. In scouti ng games he prov ed

very useful on acc oun t of his great pat ienc e,

his ingenui ty in devis ing schemes of a t t a ck ,

and the da ring wi th whic h he carried them,

into execut ion.

Finding the b o y s were more inclined to>

back him up , Paol o decided to t ake a high

hand with B o b b i e and to try to put an end

to hi s i rr i tat ing chaff once and for all. U p

to the present he had alway s answered g o o d -

humouredly, so it came as rather a surprise

to eve ryo ne to see hi m go for B o b b i e before

the whole t roop.

B o b b i e was charring Paol o for th e fiftieth

time abou t b eing afraid of the dark, a fact

which , as Pao lo had not de nied it, had c o m e

to be generally accepted . Paol o [put down

the pail of water he was carry ing and looke d

B o b b i e steadily in the face.

" I don 't think yo u are at all fair," he said.

" Just bec aus e I was a bit nervo us the first

night I had to do sentry du ty, yo u never let

anyone forget i t . Yo u don ' t give a fe l low

a chance. Just let me go on duty again and

I' l l show yo u I ' m not afraid."" Wh o got funky and went and w o k e

Overbury ? " went on B o b b i e , with a

provoking laugh.

" Yo u won 't believ e me when I tell yo u



The Son of an Anarchist. 4 41

there wag som e one prowling round the

c a mp , " said Paolo.

" There were poachers in the woods , bu t

we did n't show funk, did we ? "

" I don't know about that . You were

running when I challenged you."

" Yes, and—Oh, my !—didn't you jum p

when we rushed at you ? Wha t did you

think we were ? Y o u were in a blue funk

all the time, weren't you 1 "

" Wel l , not quite a blue funk," said Pao lo,

" bu t just a little funk, I 'll own that ."

" He owns it, you see," cried Bobbie in

derision. " He owns he was a cow ard ."

Paolo might have retorted that it is not

everyone wh o feels frightened who is a

coward, but only he who gives way to his

fear. He did not kn ow this impor tant

secret, and he knew to his shame that he had

been frightened ; b ut he felt that Bo b b ie

was very unjust, and suddenly his outraged

feelings boil ed up with in hi m and he rushed

at Bobbie, hitting him wildly on the nose.

Everyone cheered, for Bobbie was older and

taller than Paol o, and the boy s gat heredround to wat ch the exp ect ed fight.

Bobbie in his better moments would have

refused to fight a smaller b oy , but his

jealousy and his unkindness blinded him and

mad e hi m forget ho w unfair the conte st was

bound to be.

" Oh, you want to fight, do yo u ? " he

cried, flushing with rage. " Wel l , I ' l l give

you all you w ant ."

Paolo was quite co o l , bu t his ey es flashed

with a strange light; and, after a pause for

breath, the two boys went for one another

in deadly earnest. Paolo knew nothing

about box ing, but he fought l ike a l i t t le

demon,hitting as hard as he knew how,

regardless of the blood which poured from

his nose after a well-directed b low from

Bobbie ; and, in spit e of his lack of sci enc e

and his inferiority in strength and weight,

he did not let Bobb ie off unscat hed, for he

gave him a black eye and knocked out a

tooth.

But it was apparent fr om th e first

that they were unequall y match ed and

that Paol o was in for a bad beating . Th e

other boys, noticing this and seeing that

they were tremendously in earnest, tr ied

to sto p the fight. So me cau ght h ol d of

Bobbie and told him it was caddish to go

on when Paolo was obviously beaten;

others pul led Paol o off, tell ing hi m that he

had no chance and that he had better give

in. But Paolo cried " Neve r ! I won 't give

in till he apologises for calling me a coward,"

and Bo bbi e angrily declared that it was

Paolo who should apologise, not he. So

they went at it again more fiercely than ever.

It fras really beginning to look serious.

But, though the boys had never seen any

o n e with such invincible energy as Paolo,

it seemed that the fight must soon be over ;

fo r Paolo' s face was covere d with b lood and

both his eyes so swollen that he could

scarcely see out of them. He was obvi ousl y

faint and gid dy, for many o f his blows now

fell wide of his opponen t and he staggered

_at times as if about to fall.

" Giv e it up , Po ll y," cried oneof th e boys.

" Yo u ' v e had enough. Yo u can' t possibl y

beat Bobbie . "

Paolo said nothing, but went for his foe

once more with the energy of despair, o nly

to be knocked flat on the ground by a b low

from Bobbie.

" He's do ne, " cr ied Jock. " Stop the

fight."

But no ! Pao lo was still unconquered !

To everyone ' s surprise he rose to his feet

and hurled himself once more at Bobbie , wh o

prompt ly knocked him dow n again. But

Bobbie was frankly tired of it all and w oul d

hav e stop ped the fight if he had n ot be en

attacked. It is rather tame to keep on

knocking a chap down, who will get up

again s imply to be knoc ked dow n. All the

boys admired Pao lo 's pluck, but they were

beginning to wonder what Mr. Landor

would say about it all.

" He'l l get killed, if he goes on muc h

long er," said Seth Lever son. " Com e away ,

Bobbie . Yo u can' t fight hi m any m ore ."

Bobbie fold ed his arms and determined that

he would not hit P aol o any more , even if

he attacked him. How ever , when Paol o did

attack, rising to his feet for the last time, his

temper got the better of him and onc e mor e

he felled him to the grou nd.

This time P aol o did not get up again, but

lay as if s tunned, his whi te face loo king up

at the sky, surround ed b y the cr ow d of

frightened boys , who thought that Bo b b ie

had killed him.

Bo b b i e was the first to fall on his knees

beside Paolo and unfasten hi s shirt . Then

th ey flicked his ches t wit h da mp to wel s

and he soon bega n to c o me round again.

Just at this moment Ronald, who had

been to Rock leig h with another boy to fetch

some letters, came running into the camp,

and seeing the little cro wd of scouts , pu shed

his way into their midst . He to ok in the

situation at a gl an ce ; and, in answer tohis eager questions, the bo ys told him how it

had all happe ned.

At first he bitterl y bl ame d Bobb ie for his

work, but the others told him how, even

whe n Bo bb ie was wil ling to end the fight,

Paolo had refused to giv e in, so Rona ld

s a id :

" Wel l , I hope you'll both shake hands

and be friends after al l this. At any ra te

y o u can't call him a coward now ."

" No, he certainly is not a coward in that

w a y , " confessed Bobbie . " I ' ve never seena pluckier little fighter. Bu t he be ga n it,

not I ."

Wh en Paol o had recove red sufficiently t o

s tand, he act ual ly wan te d to begi n to fight

again, but everyone assured him it was

imposs ib le .

" But he hasn ' t apologised yet ," said he,

" a n d — a n d I ' m not beaten. I won' t giv e

in—till he apologises."

" Wel l , old cha p," said Ronald , smiling,

" I don't know about your not being beaten.

Y o u d o n ' t look as if you are fit for much.

It is absurd t o think of yo ur fighting a bi g

fellow like Bob bie ; but I ' m sure he won ' t

call yo u a coward again."

Ron al d could not help laughing t o himself,

as he contr asted the po or, battered little

scout covered with b lood and bruises and

with bo th his eyes clos ed up, with the bo y

whose por trai t had been hung in the

Ac a d e my , hi s father 's pride and his mot her' s

darling. But to Ron al d, the s turdy English

schoo lboy , Paol o Costa, miserable- looking

objec t as he now was, appeared far hand

somer in this war-like guise than he ever did

glorified by his father 's art.

Bo b b i e teased Pa ol o no more, but he h ad

not yet quite conquered his jealousy, so he

a v o i d e d him whenever poss ibl e; but with

the other boys Paolo 's popular it y was

quite assured, and his great fight withBobbie prov ed an almost inexhaustible

topic of convers atio n for several day s to

come .

{To be continued.)

CURES ACHESA IN D P A I N S

foe o/ej of Adverse me nK"



4 4 2 The Boy's Otetn Taper.

. . . . Y (^W/ff"* .{fa Capita/ Numi-ejrJ

CYCLING FOR THE MONTH -. APRIL.

A Pa g e Tor th e " B . O . P . " W h e e lma n .

IT is' in the earli er part of the activ e riding

season tha t cycl ists suffer mo st fro m

muscular stiffness and strain. A fine day

t e mp t s one to put in anextra big mileage,

and, not being yet in really hard cond i t i on ,

w e find ourselves afflicted with what the

d o c t o r s and other learned people call local

muscu lar fati gue or stiffness, wh ich is often

really quit e painful.

Of cours e, stiffness onl y co mes on when

a person is more or less out of practice in

the exercise tha t he is performing, and it is

t h u s a sure sign of the want of training, as

w e may say. The more a cyclist rides, da y

af ter day, the less is he l ikely t o feel any

advers e effect from even the longest rides,and wi th a really hard- r id ing cycl is t , all

liability to stiffness usually disappears some

where about th is tim e of the year . He has,

y o u see, " got into form," as the phrase is .

Bu t until one does arrive at that state of

physical fitness, stiffness is apt to result

f r o m any overdoing of distance, or from

a spell of hard plugging against a strong

head wind.

N o w , a capi tal dod ge for escap ing stiffness

in the e arl y seas on, is to well ru b in a l i t t le

em broca t ion after each ride, and before

y o u change into yo ur ordinar y clothes .

Po n' t wait for the stiffness to actua lly c o m e

o n before doing this ; rub the embrocation

into your muscles as a precaution, and then

y o u will nev er feel any stiffness at all. T h a t

is a very old, and to-day universal , " t i p "with path-racing cyclists and s peed road-

riders, an d it is also val uab le to the ord in ary

wheelman.

Having said tha t t o y o u , I th ink I can in

re turn hear some fellows saying something

to me, and the purpor t of their remarks

I imagine to be somewhat like this :

" Yes, but embro cati on costs mon ey, an d

s o seems t o be rather in the nature of a

l uxury . "

Well , pocket -money not being a lways t oo

plentiful, and adv ice certa inly not worth

much unless one can also demonstrate

h o w it is to be followed, I am going t o tell

y o u how to make a real, right-down, rattl ing

g o o d cycl ing embrocat ion at the cost of only

a few pence, or, to be more precise, say four-

pence.

Procure a six-ou nce bottle, and with i t

mar ch off to the nearest chemist 's sho p and

ask him t o put into the bottle one penny

worth of acetic acid, one pennyworth of

spirits of camp hor, and on e penn ywort h of

By RAYMOND RAIFE.

spirits of turpentine. Whe n you get home

a dd t o this the white of one egg, then fill

u p the bottle with water, cork securely,

and there yo u are ! Or, rather, there is

y o u r embrocat ion. I might just ad d t h a t

th is mixture acts better as a muscle-reviver

if it is notused quite freshly made ; it

should be left for a l i t t le while t o mature

in quality . So, having made i t , and seen

tha t it is well corked down, put it away in

a dark cupboard for a week or so before

using.

In the case of a strained muscle, a g o o d -

sized clo th dip ped in fairly hot water, wrung

out, and placed upon the muscle before

rubbing it , greatly assists the action of anyem broca t ion .

BEWARE OF THE T AR!

Gett ing out and about in the country

just now, one not infrequently comes t o

places where the roadway is being treated

with some prepara t ion or other in order to

allay the summer dust nuisance, which

nuisance, by the way, is mainly caused by

moto r-ca rs. If the stuff tha t is bein g spread

up on the surface of the hi ghw ay is jus t ordin

ary tar, the cyclist should be extremely

careful how he rides there. B y far the

wisest plan, indeed, is to get off and walk

past tha t danger zone.

For wet tar is a terror for causing side

slips, and o nce you c o m e down on it, y o uwill never forget i t . I remember an occasion

when tar was being app lied to the princip al

streets in Redhi l l . In one day, at least

eight cyclists had real, thorough-going side

slips there, sma ck dow n flat in the r oad way,

and, as the y fell amo ng the hot tar, their

clothes were compl etel y ruined. Happ ily

ta r is not so popul ar no w as it once was

fo r making roads dustless. Ke ep an eye

open fo r i t , however, when on your wheel

wander ings .

Besides purely pleasure c ycling , most of

us use our bikes for all sorts of hand y getting

about , and tha t being so, a carrier is a most

conven ient adjunct to have on one's machi ne.

F i x e d over the back wheel is b y far and

away the best position for any cycle-carrier,

fo r there, no matte r what the weight carried,

it doe s not affect the steering.

Th e chief objection to most carriers is tha t

they are still there when you don ' t want to

use the m. But som e of the m are made so

tha t they will fold back flat against th e rear

chain stays. One pat te rn of carrier there

is tha t ingeniously takes three forms. Fully

open it is a strong neat luggage carrier ;

partly clo sed it carries a mackintosh cape in

small space just under the too l wallet, or,

not req uired for service as a carrier of any

thing, it can be instantly collapsed flat on

the chain stays , quite ou t of the way . I t

is a clever contrivance that , as one critic

observed, " would not look cumbersome even

on a racing machine."

IF YOUR BICYCLE SQUEAKS.

A good bicycle, maintained in repair andproperly oiled, should be practically silent

in running upo n the road . Whe n yo u en

counter any fellow pedalling along to the

accompaniment of a discordant jangling,

grind ing or squea king noise emitt ed b y his

two-wheeled mount , yo u are pre t ty certain

to find tha t he is a poor , haphazard kind of

a cycl ist . For eve n an old bicycle, decently

adjusted an d tended, "keep s its mouth shut ,"

and silent running is a charm of any

machine.

Whenever a bicyc le that is usually silent

in running begins to " speak " inany way,

th e matter should be a t tended to forthwith,

fo r noise in th e running of a cycle implies

defect ive working as a rule. First of all,

ascertain tha t all the bearings are well oiled.

Sometimes a most mysterious squeaking,tha t may long defy identification, comes

from the spr ings of the saddle, and is to be

cured by a dr op of oil appl ied in exa ctl y t he

right place. The leather itself of a new

saddle, not being yet worn pliant, will, in

some cases, squeak most audibly. Of

course , the mo re you ride the saddle, the

fainter grow s the squeak , but, to act* more

expeditiously , yo u should well rub the under

side of the leather with soap.

Whe re the squeak o r other noise is heard

regularly at each revolution of the wheels

or pedals, it is usually merely a question

of oil, or of some minor matte r of adjust

ment , to set the thing right. If, on t he

contrary, a harsh grating sound is not iced

as being prod uced only now and again, yo u

should immediat ely make a thorough examination to see tha t no part of the tubin g has

b e c o m e fractured.

T o d o this, light ly tap each tube and fork

with, say, a small spanner and listen to make

sure that i t " r i n g s " true. If any such



Cycling for the Month: April. 4 4 3

par t fails to do so, have it exa min ed by

a repairer before yo u trust yourself on the

machine again. By this proceeding you

m ay very l ikely avo id a bad accide nt .

A t the con clus ion of a long da y' s ride on

the Great Nort h R o a d , I once noticed a

most weird noise coming occas ional ly f rom

th e bicycle of another cycl is t . Between

Potte r's Bar and High Barnet I spoke

t o him abou t it, and he decid ed to h ave

the machine examin ed on reaching the la t tertown. It being Ban k Holid ay, the first

repairer's sho p we cam e to was closed, bu t

a passing individual announced himself

as being a cycle-maker by t rade and kindly

offered to look at the bike . He wen t care

fully over it, and then s a i d :

" Y e s ; t h e c rown of the front forks is

fractured. I guess y o u ' d have broken

your neck if you had free-wheeled d o wn

Barnet Hill whic h is just in front of y ou ."

So you see that any unusual noise on a

cyc le is really a danger signal, and it should

be unhesi tat ingly accep ted as such.

SOME DRESS HINTS.

Not a few cyclists wear cel luloid shirt

collars of the k ind that, instead of havi ng tobe sent to the laundry, c an be kep t clean by

simply wiping them over with a da mp

sponge . As these collars alway s re main

stiff, they are very conv enie nt for cyc l ing

wear. In order that they shall retain their

whiteness, howev er, wearers of the m sho uld

always give them a wipe over before putt ing

them away, say, from one week end to

anoth er, or eve n after eac h tim e of using.

Thus treated, they continue to look quite

s n o wy even for years.

Referring t o matters of dress, it seems

a funny thing that some fellows, otherwise

rather neat an d na t ty , may be, even " nut

l ike," in their attire, appear to think that

an y old clothes are g o o d enou gh to go

cyc l ing in. I am sure I hav e seen so me of

them arrive home from school , or the older

ones, from business, quite band -bo xy, so to

speak, and yet c o me out again with their

bikes soon after, look ing like ruffians. N o

o n e with any sense wants to be a da nd y or

a fop , but there is absolute ly nothing abo ut

the grand sport and pastime of cyc l ing t o

prevent one's continui ng to present the

appearances of a youn g English gen tleman

when indulging in it.

Here are one or two points about cycl ing

clothes that may be worth noting .

A cycl ing cap , not ha ving to o large a

peak for the wind to get under and so b l o w

the ca p off, shou ld be cho sen to suit one 's

particular style of face. As to this there

should be little difficulty, for a well-known

dealer once told me that he stocked cycl ing

caps in as many as twenty-seven different

shapes ! A fellow would require to own a

very peculiar cast of countenance that

should require a twenty -eigh th pattern cap ,

one would think !

Your cycl ing suit, naturally enough,

may be of any colour or design of cloth

that you please, but that best keeps its shape

that is made of not too loosely woven

material. If yo u choose a fairly thick

material, don't have a Norfolk jack et, as these

are always warmer to wear, and are more

comfortable when of lighter weight cloth.

Stockings to match, and, for prefer

ence , with thin feet and thick legs, as

such stocki ngs are descri bed. Shoes bla ck

o r brown , as you fanc y, and if they arereally wide enou gh for you in the sole,

the y will not press over at the side from th e

pressure of const ant p edalling.

A jersey is a ver y appro priate under

garment for cycling, and you may have one-

that is adapted to take a collar, so that

y o u can wear a collar and nec ktie with it.

SPEED GEARS.

A very considerable proport ion of bicycles

n o w are fitted wi th tw o- or thre e-sp eed

gears. But a variab le spee d gear adds to

th e cos t of a bicyc le , and so there are a g o o d

man y youn g cyclists who are having to wait

a while before , earning mon ey for themselves,

they can afford to own that extra luxury.

N o w , with a three-speed hub to your

machi ne, yo u can have a lo w gear, a medi um

gear, perhaps, say, twenty inches higher,

and a top gear twenty inches higher than

that , each of these bein g switc hed on at

your will . An d if you, r iding a med ium

fixed gear bicycle, ar e cyc l ing with another

rider w ho is on a two or three-s peeder,

y o u will not impr oba bly be surprised to

find h o w your comp anion , swi tching on

his top gear, runs aw ay from y o u d o wn

long , easy descents. Whi le yo u are scutt l ing

after him on your fixed gear, he, not p edal

ling fast either, sweep s right aw ay and

leaves you behind him.

Tha t fact causes some youn g fellows to

d o an act that they soon repent . No t able

to yet afford a variable speed gear, they

have a bigger fixed gear wheel fitted to their

bicycles . With what result ? Wh y, on lyto find that, owing to the harder work on

the level or uphill, their average pace per

mile on a run is slow er than when they rode

a lower gea r; and to o high a gear for you r

strength takes eve ry bit of the benefit and

pleasure out of cycl ing. T h e truth is that

a high gear is on ly of advant age to the

ordinary cyc l i s t when it can be used turn

an d turn about with a lower gear, to be

switche d on when there is harder pedall ing

work to be d o n e . Therefore, while wait ing

until yo u can run to a varia ble gear, don 't

gear too high.

A s a writer upon cyc l ing topi cs, I require

every season to have a l o o k roun d at all the

ne w machines. Or, anywa y, at as man y of

them as I can manage to inspect . No w,naturally eno ugh , if you pa y a big price, yo u

can get a good bike for yo ur mo ne y ; if yo u

can not , it is generally m ore difficult to do so.

Tha t is wh y I am gratified to men tion that

the " Ju no " bicycles of the Metrop oli tan

Machin ists' Co ., Ltd ., are really first gra de

machine s at a mod erat e price. An d I was

specially pleased to note what careful atten

t ion that firm give s to bui ldin g b o y s '

bicycles.

April being proverbially a month of the

year that usually brings us a g o o d l y supply

of rain showe rs, reminds one of an admi rabl e

little extension mudguard I recently saw, or,

rather, a foreguard over the front wheel,

that can be popped on or taken off in a few

seconds. This guard sim ply clips on to th e

stirrup of the front wh eel brake, and is thus

fastened there withou t any screws. A nd

we all know how, without a foreguard of

Home kin d, the splashes of mu d proje cted

b y the front wheel soon fair ly smothe r bot h

machi ne and rider. This one can be put on

or taken off in " two t wo ' s , " and it weighs

" next to nothing."

j r j t

T H E S P L I T I N F I N I T I V E .

THE split infinitive, my lad,

Is something to avoid;

To see you use it makes me sad,

The charm your essay might have had

Is by its use destro yed.

So take my counsel, prithee, do,

That turn for licence curb ;It will be quite unwise of you

To let aught creep between the " to "

An d its ally, the verb.

In language many a black abyss

Awaits you far and nigh ;Such pitfalls I would have you miss,

But chiefly do beware of this

Grammatical Paul Pry!

P. J. COX.

S C I E N T I F I C

O D D S A N D E N D S .

I .—Some E x p e r i m e n t s

w i t h M a g n e t s .

By W. M. SEABER, B.S c, F.I.C.

T I O K these it is necess ary to buy tw o

X small bar magn ets, whic h can be

obta ined from man y toy shops, or from

s o me chemists. They cost from lOd. per pair

upwards , acco rding to size. Th e ordinary

horse-shoe magnet is not much g o o d fo r

these exp eri ment s. It will be seen that th e

t w o bar magnets are protected by pieces

of iron at the ends . If this were not done ,

the magnetism would weaken much more

rapidly. Yo u wil l also notice that each

magnet has a line across one end, and that

they are placed so that the marked ends

are away from each other. No w take off

the pieces of iron and separate the bars.

Y o u will find that the marked ends will

repel each other , and so will the plain end s,

but a plain end and a mar ked end will

a t t r ac t each other. 'Y o u must o btain no w several thin

knittin g pins as lon g as yo u like. If you r

sister cannot supply you with these, probably

Floating on W a t e r .

y ou can get them at some draper 's . The y

mus t be cut into short pieces ab ou t 1J

t o 2 inches l ong , which can be don e by

making a cut with a good three-cornered file,

placing th e file flat on the tabl e and usi ng its

uppe r edge as a mean s of breaki ng the n eedle

at the cut , placing the cut just on the ed ge

of th e file, and smart ly bend ing the needle

with bot h hands.

These pieces (of which abou t a d ozen

may be cut) must n ow be mag netised

separately. T o do this y o u t ake one, place

it flat on the table, put a mat ch across

its centr e, and a weigh t at one end of the

match, so that the needle is preven ted

f rom mov ing about. Ta ke one mag net

in each hand, hol ding one by the m ark ed

end an d the other b y the plain end. Brin g

their other ends o ne on each side

of the ma tch at the cent re of the piece

of knit t ing needle, and s lowly draw each

magnet towards the end nearest to it,

touc hin g the needle all the time. Bring

them back over the top again to the centre

without tou ching the needle, and y ou are

ready to start again. D o this seven times,

and you have turned th e piece of knittingneedle into quite a stron g little mag net.

Y o u will find that the end of the ne edle

which you stroked with a marke d e nd

will be attracted by a marked end, and

pus hed awa y b y a plain end ; an d similarly,

the end rub bed with the plain end of

the othe r magne t will be attracted b y



4 4 4 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.

a plain end and pushed away by a ma rke d

end. Yo u must proc eed in exactly the

same way unt i l you have turned all your

dozen pieces into magnets. No tice as

y o u d o this which ends will be a t t rac ted

b y a marked end and lay them with their

ends pointing in the same direction.

T he ne xt step is to find so me sma ll

corks , and to cu t pieces from them about

J in. thic k. Th en push each little magn et

through a piece of cork , and make them

float on water so that all the ends which

would be pushe d away by a mark ed end are

undern eath. (In the case of blun t ends it

is g o o d to make a hole first with the sharp end

of a knitting pin.) R e m o v e the floating

magnets from the water and make marks on

t o p of the corks so that you know which

w ay to put them back again.

Meanwhile, fix up one of the ba r mag net s

so that it is upright over the water (which

m a y be put into a china basin) and has its

marked end downwa rds and about 1J inches

above the water . Th e exac t distance

above the water for best results must be

found by trial , as it depends upon the

strength of the magnet .

Y o u must t h i n float the little mag net s onon e by one, and yo u will notice how curiously

they arrange themsel ves under the influence

of the magn et whic h is a b o v e . It is possible

t o d o this by holding the bar mag net with

on e hand , but it is mu ch easier and mor e

conven ien t to hav e it fixed in some way,

so that it can, if necessary, be m o v e d up and

d o w n . The best thing to fix it with is one

o f th e w ooden c l ip stands used in a chemical

laboratory , but prob ably many ways will

o c c u r t o y o u — f o r instance you might have

a piece of string tied to the plain end of

the magnet so that the marked end hangs

downwards , and the string cou ld be fixed t o

a nail in the side of a box . Th e magn et

cou ld then be raised and low ered by twisting

up the string.

It is difficult to describe exactl y wha t

goes on as fresh magnets are added from

the side, but yo u will see what regular

arrang ements are for med and ho w first

one , then t w o , then three magnets go in

immediate ly under the bar magnet , and

h o w they surround themselves with a ring

of others . If one or tw o are inclined to

float off by themselves and to leave the

general family you must c o a x them in by

lowering the bar magne t, a nd if the whole

lo t of them are too much huddled u p you

must raise the magn et a little. Y o u ma y

also try the effect of put t ing the other bar

ma gn et on to p of the first o ne with its ma rke d

end touc hing the plain en d of yo ur first on e.

A ver y interesting thing, to o, is sudde nlyto remo ve the bar magn et when a g o o d

num ber of the magne ts have a rranged

themselves . Th ey all qui ckl y separate, and

m os t of them t a k e up ver y regular positio ns

roun d the side of the basin with one ,

t w o , or three disporting themselves in the

middle . Very man y different arrangements

can be got in this way by a little " juggling."

On e little trick is worth mentioning. First

arrange eight magne ts at equal distances

rou nd the edge and pu t two in the middle .

Th is can easily be do ne with a little car e,

and it will be found that the two will remain

there witho ut the help of any bar magn et.

N o w carefully m o v e one magnet away from th e

side and gently push it towar ds the centre.

In the other hand hol d a bar magne t an d

bring its marked end cautiously down until

y o u can just keep the three in the middle.

Take away the bar magnet and you will

generally find that the little magnet you

brought from the side will g o ba ck by itself to

its gap . Bu t no w push it out again and hold

it as before, an d this time, while you are

still keep ing it in the centre with the othe r

t w o , rearrange the ones round the edge so

that the gap is filled up and there are seven

rou nd the edge at equal distances. R e m o v e

the magnet and our wandering friend shows

no desire to push his way bac k, but simpl y

remains to make a little triangle with the

other two.

Y o u will find very many more amusing

things to d o with these needles, and youwill be interested t o know that by studying

the mov eme nts of little magnets in ways

very muc h like this, Professor J. J. Th oms on

has sho wn us ho w the chemica l atoms were

probab ly built up from minute specks of

elect r ic i ty .

S c a r r e d Cliff I s l a n d :

A T a l e o f a V e n d e t t a .

By A. FERGUSON,

Author of " The Singing Kettle,"" Held as Hostages," " Up the

Essequibo" etc., etc.

C H A P T E R V I . — E S C A P I N G F R O M M Y B O N D S , I P R O V E T H E V A L U E O F A B O Y S P A S T I M E .

Barto Bar-

buzzi a n d

his brother

went away

t o find Fran

cesco Cazale.

T hrough th e

open back door I

w atched them top

the rise behind

the house, and

after some c o n

fabulation separate, each going

off to search in

different direct ions.

W ith the fog gone , it

wa s again the loveliest of

summer mornings, and a gentle breeze

stirred the clear, sunlit air. Th e tw o

Sicilians being o ut of sight, it would have

been hard for me to bel-eve that, on such a

d a y , black murder, in the heart of Barto

Barbuzzi , cou ld be walking our peaceful little

island, were it not that the ruffian's ferocious

threats still rang in my ears, making me

tremblingly certain that the bla ckest of

murders would bo don e if he foun d F rancie.

But, for my comfort , I was equally certain

that he would no t find Fran cie. I had no

fear that th e latter would fail to reach, even

in the fog, the " Tre e of Refu ge " Gully, a nd,

when the fo g lifted, t he Tr ee of Ref ug e itself

and the cunning hiding-place on the top of it.

Once there, a hund red Bart o Barbuz zis, as

greedily thirsting for his blood as the one who

wa s after him no w, might search the island

fo r wee ks wit ho ut finding him. Oh, Fran cie

wa s safe beyond the risk of disc ove ry !

Then my thoughts turned rather ruefully

to myself. I had vaguely and vain-

gloriously fancied that, bo y though I was,

I should somehow be a ble, with the exercise

of a little simple cunnin g, to throw dust in

the eyes of two ignorant I ta l ian fishermen

and put them off Franci e's scent, besides

scaring them quick ly away from the islandb y the announcement that, at any moment,

my father might return with friends. But

things had not turned out accordin g to m y

expectat ions . It w as I wh o had suffered th e

scaring, thoug h I had had pl uck enough

to hide the fact.

F rom the first, I ha d bee n me re ly a

helpless youn gste r in the po wer of the

savag e Bart o, and no w here I was his

prisoner, ignomi niou sly trussed like a fowl,

and by bonds that seemed impossible to

loosen, twist myself abo ut as I might. Ye s,

indeed, I felt quite a little b oy , and a v er y

cheap little bo y at that. I also felt myself

getting a very uneas y little b oy , as I p ictured

th e return of the tw o villains. For there wa s

no doub t that Barto Barbuzzi, unsuccessful

in his hunt for the man he wanted to kill,

would return in a furious tempe r.

There was a big chance, I considered, that

he might ven t som e of that temper in

knocking me about, seeing that I was a

friend of Francie's, though he didn't suspect

me of kno win g anything o f the latter's

latest mov eme nts . If he did suspect that I

wa s in league with Francie against him, that

I kn ew where Francie was hiding—and the

chances were that, in his baffled fury, he

would start suspecting tha t—what would

happ en ? I had an in stinctive feeling,

though I might not then have been able to

put it into clear words, that there was a

reckless savagery in Barto's nature, akin to

madness, that would blind him to consequences when his vile temper was fully

roused. I turned c old al l over and shivered

in my bonds.

Wha t would the ruffian do to me ? I

asked myself fearfully. W o u l d he kill me i

N o , not at first, a ny wa y, I dec ide d, not

until he had tried to get out of me where

Francie was—had tried to get me to lead

the m there. Bu t neve r, neve r, I v o w e d

to myself, should I budge one step towards-

Francie's hiding-pl ace ! Never , never would

I speak one word that cou ld help Barto to

find Francie ! even tho ugh he stuck knives

int o me , or cu t off my nose and ears,

as I had read was the way of Italian brigands

with their prisoners—and a brigand was

almost a decent sort compared with him.

M y imagina tion rioted on, suggesting th e

most harrowing possibilities, until it reached

a climax in this : S uppos e Barto should

keep torturing me until I lost grip of myself



Scarred Cliff Island. 4 4 5

an d gave Francie awa y ! I had read of big ,

strong men telling, under torture, things

that they would have died sooner than tell

•otherwise—and I was on ly a bo y. I mig ht,

without kn owing what I was doing , betr ay

poor , trusting Francie to be tortured an d

kill ed by his fiendish ene my. I must ge t

a w a y — I must not be there when Barto

returned to tor ture and make a t ra i tor of m e!

In a mad panic, I struggled, and strained,

an d pulle d, tryin g to loose n the rope that

t ied me. Except that my wrists an d

ankl es go t cut , it was all to no effect. At

first it seeme d so, an yh ow ; then , as my panic

subsided, I noticed that m y right arm felt

a trifle less con fine d than it had been . No t

withou t pain and difficulty, I man age d, at

length, to work my hand and forearm free

o f the rope. A little wriggling and stretching,

and my clasp-knife was extr acted from the

inside pocket of my schoo l-uniform shirt .

A little hack ing and sawing at the r ope , and

I was altogether free from my bonds.

Shall I ev er forget the jo y and thankful

ness that mome nt brough t me, even thoug hthe next sent me tumbling to the floor, faint

and exhausted ?

But I quickly recovered myself, for I

was in desperate haste to get out of the

hou se and hide, lest one, or bot h of the

Barbuzzi brothers should c o m e back sooner

than was to be exp ect ed. I dare d not go

near Francie, lest, by so me unlucky chance,

they should catch sight of me and get a

« l u e to his where abou ts. I must find quite

another hiding-place. But where ? Th e

answer flashed instantly on my searching

mind , and brough t with it an inspiriting

suggest ion that filled me with hope.

I was quite well awar e that, even though

l, as well as Francie, were conce ale d past

•finding by the Barbuzzi, the situation

stil l would remain trying and dangerous

ior bot h of us. The villains migh t choose

to keep possession of our island until they

.spied my father's yach t returning, and that,

possibly, migh t not be for another couple

o f days . In the meanwhile, with t hem

search ing for us, Francie a nd I would not

•dare, for our lives, to mo ve a yard from

our hiding-places.

A n d there was even worse than that

f o r me to fear. For I kne w that, when

I never came to announce the Barbuzzi 's

departure to him, Francie's anxiety on m y

.account would force him, before very long,t o leave his safo refuge and risk his en emies'

knives to find out what had hap pen ed.

Ho if, after all, he was not to fall a victim

to Barto Barbuzzi 's mad thirst for venge

an ce , the sooner our island was rid of that

.ruffian and his bro the r the better. But poor

Francie and I, singly or conjo intly, were,

very evident ly, not fitted to do the ridd ing.

Al l this I had sense enough to see very

•clearly. Therefo re, when I re memb ered

a g o o d place for me to hide in, it can l e

•easily imagi ned ho w eagerly I snatche d at

the idea which that hiding-place naturally

suggested—the idea of summo ning help

from be yo nd the isla nd.

Even as these thoughts were hurrying

throu gh m y mind, I was rushing from one

room to another, collecting my father's

field-glasses, his sha vin g-mi rro r and a

•cherished little noteboo k of my o wn.

'These articles—su ddenly bec ome of price

less impor tance to me

— I thrust into the

b o s o m of my shirt .

Then, peeping first to

see that the Barbuzzi

were not in sight, I

ran out of the house

and made for the cover

of a little patch of

wind - c ropped a n d

t w i s t e d trees that

fringed trie edge of the cliff

close by .

When I got there, I took

hold of the expo sed roots of

one of those hardy t rees, an d

cautiously let myself drop over

th e cliff on to a narrow, slanting

ledge on its precipitous face.

This ledge ran d ow n, at a sligh t

angl e, for ab ou t fifteen fee t.

There it stopped, widening into

an almos t level plat for m large

enough to give standing r o o m

to a dozen people or more at

on e time. The platform was

the top of a sort of great

natural but t ress of the cliff,

and t he sides of the buttress,

which wa s against th e cliff, fell sheer down,

a hun dre d and sev ent y feet, to the sea

breaki ng in foa m on the roc ks be low .

It was just the place to take hold of the

heart of a bo y, and its fascinati on was,

of cours e, increas ed b y the spi ce of difficulty

and danger there was in getting access to it.

N o wonder that I regarde d it at all times as

my own especial sanctum !

A s th e trees overhanging the cliff hid the

platform, and the ledge that led down to it ,

from v i e w from abo ve, unless one wen t

out of one's way to look for them, I felt

quite safe here fro m the Barb uzz i. Besid es,

the weather of centuri es had wo rn out a

hole in the cliff, behind the platform, in

which a boy , who didn ' t mi nd being

cramp ed a li t t le, coul d he well-hidden from

the sight of all save the sea-birds.

But I did not mean to take to the ho le

just yet . The re was wo rk to be do ne first.

There, on my right, across more than a dozen

miles of water—just then, unusually bare

I pulled out

arranged co

the notebook, wh ich contained our carefullyde of signals, and set to work." (Seep. 446.)

that of boats or vessels of any descri ption—l ay

th e l i t t le settlement on the mainland. My

work was to summon help from there in

our sore need.

I glanced quickl y up at the sun. Yes ,

the sun was just right. Th ou gh I felt as if

weeks had pas sed since Fran cie an d I

set out on ou r tou r of ins pect ion in the

early morning, i t wanted still m ore than

two hours of noo n. Cuthbert wou ld be at

his post.

E ighteen months ago, Cuthbert D aw son

and I had sta r ted a sys tem of signa lling to

each othe r by sun-flashes. W e had mad e up

a private c o d e of our own—th ough not

witho ut incurring a hea vy debt to the

Morse telegraphic c o d e , of which Cuth had

learned someth ing from a cousin who was

in the Nor thp ort telegraphic office—and

w e had got so enthusiastically interested

in what we had begun as an idle game, that

w e had kept it up to the constant improve

ment of our met hods .

When we were at our homes, in the schoo l



4 4 6 The "Boy's Obern Taper.

vacat ions, we mad e it a duty t o repair

twice, every day of sunshine, to our respective

heliogra phic stations on each side of the

d iv id ing chann el. In the morn ing, as the

posi t ion of the sun dem and ed, it was I

wh o flashed messages with a looking-glass

t o Cuth from m y cliff platform. Then, in

the aftern oon, I rece ived those he sent to

m e f rom the t op of the little hill beh ind his

father 's house.

B y dint of mu ch pract ice we had brou ght

ou r somewhat primit ive heliog raphy to

quite a serv iceabl e degre e of efficiency,

an d Cut h and I we re as pr ou d of it as if

we had disco vered the sun and inv ented

mirrors.

M y father had allowed that our sun-

signalling might prove valuable in an

emergenc} ' . Wel l , here was an emergency

with a vengeance—an emergency that wa s

going to prove the worth of a mere b o y ' s

pas time ! F or I pinned my fai th to that

pastime to turn the tables on the Bar buzzi

before long, an d win free dom and safety

fo r Francie and myself .

Eage r and ex cite d, I hauled a roug h

w o o d e n stand of my own making out of

the h ole in the cliff, where I kept it han dy.

The n, placing it in posi tion, I hung my

father's s havin g-mirr or on it, pulled out the

notebook, whic h con tain ed our carefully

arranged c o d e of signals, and set to work.

T o begin with, I twice flashed " Urg ent. "

Then s low ly an d surely m y flashes spelle d

o u t : —

" Franc ie and I in great danger. The

Barbuzzi here. Fa th e r away. Send

help at once to us."

I was sure that Cuth, kno win g al l about

the Barbuzzi brothers, would not fail to

unders tand the message and what the

message impl ied. Still, to leave no r o o m

fo r his misreading it, I carefully repeated

it several times.

I had no means of kno win g that my chum

had go t the message, or, even , had been

at his po st to get it. Bu t, all the same , it

never entered my mind to doubt that l.e

had been there, and ha d dul y rece ived it,

and would d o a b o y ' s utmost to have my

appeal quic kly and effectively answered.

I c o u l d so abso lutel y rely upo n Cuth.

So , satisfied to know that I had done my

part in summoning help, and that help

wa s sure to reach us as speed ily as mig ht

be , I bundled myself and signalling con

trapti ons into the hole in the cliff. There

I sa t, field-glasses in ha nd , to wai t and

wat ch for the first appe aran ce in the far

distance of a boat coming to our rescue.

I knew it must take som e little time to ma ke

up a rescue party and get under way, so I

tried to possess my »oul in patience.

But waiting and watching is weary work

to an eager bo y, and the time passed s low ly ,

though I had acquired, from m y lofty look

out , an interesting bit of informa tion to

rumina te on. This was supplie d by m y

recogni t ion of the stolen yacht , which had

brought the dreadful Barto Barbuzzi and

his brot her t o our island, and whi ch no w

la y peacefu lly at anc hor, a little way out

side the farther horn of the harbo ur.

As soon as I had set eye s on her I ha d

recognised her as Mr. Blundell 's Princess Ida,

fo r Mr. Blundell was one of my father's

fe w intim ate friends, and he and his yach t

had put in a couple of da ys at the island

only a few weeks previously. Well , if our

rescuers would only c o m e quickly and lay

the Barbuzzi by the heels, that would speed

the restoration of Mr. Blunde ll 's yac ht t o

her o wner !

A n d presently my hear t was gladdened

whe n, by the ass ist anc e of th e field-glasses,

I managed to pick up on the wide bare

channel a distant speck which, from it s

position, I rightly guessed to be the boa t

bringi ng help to us.

It was very sunny and peaceful up in

that crow' s-ne st of a plac e. Save for the

occasional cr y of a sea-gull an d the con

tinuo us murm ur of the summe r sea fretting

itself on the ro cks far be low , no sound broke

the stillness. Then, from some distance

behind me, came sounds that made hideous

discord to my ear—the Barbuzzi brothers

shouting to each other. P oor Francie, in

his leafy hiding-place, would be sure to hear

them too—perhaps it might even be the

" Tree of R e f u g e " Gully itself that t he

shouting came f rom ! Bu t I nee dn' t fear—

I defied the m to find Fra nci e !

I wond ere d what the poor fellow was-

thinking and feeling. I wished that it

had been possible for me to hearten him.

up with the news that our plight was known,

on the mainla nd, and a boat was now

hastening across the channel to rescue us

from that ter rib le man wit h the fingerlesa

hand w ho had taken possession of o u r

island and driv en us into h iding.

The n, whilo I sat, with glee in my heart

an d th e field-glasses glu ed to my eyes,,

watch ing the gradual enlargement of that

distant speck to a size that made it dis

tinguish able as a yacht , of a sudden there

broke upon my ears a confused hubbub of

noise, coming out of our house. Well I knew

what it meant ! The Barbuzzi had returned

from their fruitless search and had discovered

m y escape' .

[To be continued.)

Our Open Column.

H O W T O M A K E S T I L T S .

By W. J. HORNER.

2'h

1 1

i

STILTS for walking will range from about 12 in.

to 2-1 in. in height , measured from the ground to

the tops of the brackets, or spurs, on which the feet

rest. The height

of the sticks above

t h i s s h o u l d be

sufficient to reach

a little above the

shoulders of the

person who uses

them. The con

struction is very

simple except in the

few cases where the

height of step is

m a d e adjustable.

Usually it is fixed

at about 18 in.,

and the total height

of the sticks for

t h a t a m o u n t

should be about

5 ft. G in.

A small pair of

stilts for a boy of

not more than ten

or twelve can be

made fr om tw o

ordinary b r o o m

h a n d l e s w i t h

blocks screwed to

them. The way to

do this is shown

in Fig. 1. The

broom handle is

rebated to about

one - third of its

thickness. Th i s

forms a flat surface

to screw the block

against and also

provides a shoulder

above and below which assists the screws in keeping

it in place. The screw should not be less than 2 in.

long, and should be put through the stick into the

Fia. 1.

block as shown. The block should be rather less in

thickness than the stick. The height to the top of

the block in this case should be about 12 in.

Generally t h e

sticks for stilts are

of square section at

the part where the

blocks are attached

a n d a r e m a d e

c y l i n d r i c a l , or

nearly so, above

and below, as in

Fig. 2. Yello w pine

or pitch pine is

suitable, or even

d e a l i f s o u n d

s t r a i g h t-grained

pieces can be ob

tained. They should

be about 5 ft. 10 in.

l o n g by 1J in.

square. The blocks

may be about 1J in.

thick and of a suit

able width for the

boots, the measure

ment of the latter

being taken across

the arched portion

between solo and

heel. The blocks

should have slight

upward projections

beyond this width to

prevent any possi

bility of the feet

slipping off them.

In Fig. 2 two of

these blocks are

shown on opposite %

sides of a stick, but

as a rule there is

only one. The reason for having two is that two differ

ent heights of step are thus given, the lower one being,,

say, 18 in. from the ground, and the upper one 24 in.



INDOOR SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

TH E Solutions to the problems set in ou r

issue for February 1 are here given.

Th e pieces in N os . 2, 3, 4, 5 an d 6 are ar-

ranged as b e l o w :

T H E W E I G H T P R O B L E M . — The t rout

weighs 6 lbs. Let X represent the weight

of the t ro u t : half of X is 3 lbs., therefore

X weighs 6 lbs.

A D I V I S I O N P U Z Z L E . — 2 is div ided b y 5

so that the result will be 1,000, thus :

I I -J- V = M = 1,000.

A N E A S Y C I P H E R . — I n this cipher the

letter next but o n e to the o ne intended is

used, but backwards instead of forwards, w ith

t wo characters X and 2 in t roduced to start

the alphabet. Thus A is represented by X, B

b y 2, C by A, D by B, E b y C, F b y D, G

by E, H by F, an d so o n . T he message

thus deciphered reads: " T h e ' B . O . P . ' is

the friend of all boys of all count r ies ."

Th e cryptographic verse is as follows :

As quietly to steal he stole

Hi s bag of chink he chunk,

An d many a wicked smile he smole,

An d many a wink he w unk .

B U R I E D T O W N S .

1. O xford .

2. Brighton.3. Dover .

4. Carlisle.

5. Frome.

6. Deal.

/ 3 \ * \ .

/ 6

h

By MORLEV ADAMS.

(Solutions to Puzzles and Problems on p. 283.)

T H E T H R E E Q U E S T I O N S .

Th e K i ng ' s Jeste r answered the monarch

thus : T h e courier , in reply to the question

" H o w long have y o u been w a i t i ng?" s a i d

" T o o - t o o - t o o - t o o - t o o - t o o , " b y which i t w as

quite evident he meant from " T w o t o T w o

to T w o - T w o . "

In trying t o so lve the second pr ob l em

o ne would natural ly suppose the answer t o

be " ten t i m es , " bu t the carpenter in pull ing

ou t of his pocket ten nails at a t ime would

take o u t five in his hand a n d five on the ends

of hi s fingers (his own nails), and he would,

therefore, pu t his hand in hi s pocket twenty

t imes t o em pt y it.

Having solved these quest ions the jester

said that it was plain the King meant b v

Y Y U R Y Y U B I C U R Y Y 4 M E

l i

Too wise yo u are , too wise you be ,

I see yo u are to o wise fo r m e . "

A n d so , having successfully passed the

test, he was granted his life.

T he solution to the W o r d Puzzles are as

follows :

Stop—shop- -shoe .

Must—mast—cast—cant .

B o y — b a y — m a y — m a n .

Less—loss—lose—lore—more.

Fish—fis t—mis t—most—moat—meat .

W o o l — f o o l — f o o t — b o o t — b o l t — b o l e — b a l e

—ball .

(To be continued.)

m m m

Gorresponbence.L. WILEY.—It should not be a drawback to your

entering the Royal Navy. You say that yo u are

" sound as a bell" in every other respect. If the

hair continues to fall out see a doctor on the matter.

D. GIBSON.—Your " coin " is a token of ex-President

William Henry Harrison of the United States. It

was struck while he was a candidate for the office,

and has no particular value.

H . HARPER.—The " Queen's Park " and the " Queen's

Park Rangers " are two distinct clubs. The former

is a Glasgow club.

H . E. B. (St. Leonard's-on-Sea).—The November1911 monthly part is obtainable from the publishers

at the usual price.

BARTON, AY.G. S.—" The Triple Alliance " was a

serial story by Harold Avery, which appeared in

Vol. X I X of the " B.O.I'." (1897). It was illustrated

by Alfred Pearse.

L. P. JONES.—Write to the manager of the steamship

company which you wish to enter, for full particulars.

Some of the lines, we believe, take apprentices.

An introduction would no doubt be of assistanco

to you.

CANADIAN (St. John, N.B.).—(1) Th e January 13,

1912, weekly number is in stock, also the January

mont hly part. AVe can supply the coloured plate

of the '" Line r " (in the November 1900 part) at

Id. post free. (2) The " B.C.P." volumes in Canada

are bound by Messrs. AVarwick Bros, and Rutter,

wholesale stationers, Toron to. (3) " B.C. " after the

name of a London street signifies " East Central

district" ; " W . C . , " AVest Central ; " S.W.,"

South-West, and so on.

PENDRAUON.—One of the big dealers in toys and

games should be interested in your proposal. Writo

to John Piggott, Cheapside, London, E . C . , or A. W .

Gamage, Holborn, E.G., and ask for an interview.

Yo u must be prepared with a complete plan, or

model, of the game.



4 4 8 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.

Our Rote Book.PROM A SMALL BEGINNING-.

H A I T A N G is a Chinese island abou t twenty-five miles

long, with a population of 70,000. About thirty-

seven years ago, we are told, an inhabitant travelling

on the mainland hearJ- of the Gospel message from a

fellow traveller at a Chinese inn. He accepted the

truth, returned to Haitang and did not rest until hehad carried the Gospel to every one of the 411 villages

on the island. When the missionaries came about

ten years ago they found a prepared people. There

are now preaching stations in thirty villages. Some

of these poor village Christians give one-fourth of

their income for the spread of the Gospel.

AUSTRALIA'S PRINCIPAL TREE.A U S T R A L I A N forests generally present a monotonous

appearance on account of the great number of euca

lypti, of which there are many species, yet a large

variet y of other valuable trees is found there, in

cluding one, the ironbark, which furnishes one of the

best, if not the very best, hardwood timber in the

world. There are four species of ironbarks—the red,

the white, the black and the grey. The species of

eucalyptus known as the sugar-gum is said to be the

best for planting in other countries. Many of these

trees grow to a height of 90 pr 100 feet in twenty-five

years.

¥ ¥ ¥ A CAGE FOR LARVA.

OUR sketch illustrates a useful cage for larva that

ma y be easily and quickly made out of any strong

cardboard box of a suitable size. When complete

the box stands on one side and the lid forms the back

of the cage. In the sketch the lid has been removed

to show the arrange ment of the interior. On either

side of the box square pieces of cardboard are cut away,

an d in their places are fixed two pieces of perforated

zinc. This can be done by gluing strips of cloth along

the edges of the zinc and on to the box. A portion of

the bottom of the box (which forms the front of the

cage) is also cut aw ay, and glass f astened in its pla ce

in the same manner in which the zinc has been fixed.

A piece of cardboard or thin wood , carefully cut to

exa ctly fit th e cage, forms the floor, and is supportedon two little jars which contain water. There are two

holes cut in the cardboard over the jars, into which

the food for the caterpillars may be inserted, and thewater in the jars will keep it fresh until it has been

consumed. A good plan is to plug any space round

the stems of the leaves with cotton wool to prevent the

possibility of any of the caterpillars falling into the

water in the jars and so becoming drowned.

THUS THE MENU.Ho w long have menus been used at dinners ? As

an answer to this question, a story is tol d in different

German papers, according to which Duke Henry of

Brunswick, when Bitting at one of those sumptuous

feasts connected with the German Reichstag, was

noticed often assiduously to look at a long slip of paper.

When questioned b y his neighbour, the Count of

Montfort, as to the reason of his table studies, he told

him tha t the " master of the kitchen " had drawn upfor him and his stomach's benefit a list of all the dishes,

just to enable his master to reserve his appetite for

the best tilings to come. The other guests were so

well pleased with the intelligent cook's invention that

the hab it of writing out bills of fare instantly spread hi

Germany. This remarkable dinner took place at

Regensburg in 1541.

T H E SECOND MILE.

S T E R N Duty s aid : " Go walk a mile,

An d help thy brother bear his load."

I walked reluctant, but, meanwhile,

My heart grew soft with help bestowed.

Then Lov e said : " Go another mile. "

I went, and Duty spake no more,

Bu t Love arose, and with a smile

Took all the burden that I bore.

"Jis ever thus when Duty calls;

If we spring quickly to obey.Love comes, and whatsoe'er befalls,

We're glad to help another day.

Th e second mile we walk with joy,

Heaven's peace goes with us on the road;

So lee us all our powers employ

To help our brother bear life's load.

STEPHEN MOORE.

(The American Messenger.)

O U R

P R I Z E C O M P E T I T I O N

A W A R D S .

FOOTBALL COMPETITION (see page 85).

No . 1. - A Graphic (Prose) Account of

" My Dream Match."

Prize Football Winner.

A Fanc y Portrait of the "Spr ing bok s" at Home.

HOWARD C A TTELL, 1 0 7 Wilton Street, Lozells,

Birmingham.

Consolation Prizes.

E R N E S T C. M O R R I S , 20 New Street, Ludlow, Salop;

A. PJ. E A S T , Victoria House, Birchington, Kent;

J O H N S H A W , 23 0 Wanamaker Street, West Phila

delphia, Penn., U . S . A . ; J A C K A. C O O PER , 44 Winsley

Boad, Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts.

Hon. Mention.

R O B E R T D. C A R R BTH ER S, " Gj-psies," Fiv e Ashes,

Susses; T . B. C O STA IN , 99 Admiral Street, Toxteth

Park, Liverpool; C H A R LES M . EYNOK, Ripon House,

King's Boad. Harrogate.

No. 2.—Descriptive Sketch of

" My Favourite Player, and W h y . "

Prize Football Winner.

0. W . TULLETT, 18 Sidmouth Mews, Gray's

Inn Boad, W.C.

Consolation Prizes.

W . H . McNAIU, Myrtle Bank, 148 Holmo Boad, West

Bridgford, Notts.; WILLIAM C A N O F1ELD , 15 Burbank

Terrace, West Hartlepool; A . E. SMITH , 46 Lewes

Road, Brighton.

No. 3.—Humorous True Football Story.

Prize Football Winner. '

ARNOLD MORGAN, 6 0 Boundary Eoad, Wood

Green, N.

Consolation Prizes.

G E O R G E R O G E R S , 6 1 Titterton Street, Attercliffe,

Sheffield; A. E. EAST, Victoria House, Birchington,

Kent.

Hon. Mention.

H . S T E W A R T , 1 1 Wyeth's Boad, Church Boad,

Epsom, Surrey: K E N N E T H M A C D O N A L D , Sutherland

Anns Hotel, Golspie, Sutherland.

Documents

Boys Own Paper 12th April 1913