boys own paper 26th october 1912

8/9/2019 Boys Own Paper 26th October 1912

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NO. 4, NEW VOLUME.](New Series.) S A T U R D A Y , O C T O B E R 2 6 , 1 9 1 2 . P r i c e O n e P e n n y .

[ A L L RIGHTS RESERVED.]

' Suddenly he sprang to the middle and tossed the snake to the ground while he uttered awild shriek." (Sec page 61.)

The fievy Totem:A T A L E O P A D V E N T U R E I N

T H E C A N A D I A N N O R T H - W E S T .

By ARGYLL SAX BY, M.A., F.R.Q.S.,

Author of t ; Braves, White and Red," " Call of

Honour" " Comrades Three.'" " Toviak"

Tangled Trails" etc., etc 4

CHAPTER VI. THE MEDICINE M A N .

T V U K I S G the march through the w o o d s th e

AJ Indian s were not communica t ive . Once

or twice Arno ld at tempte d to draw Swif t

A r r o w into convers atio n, but the old man

merely l istened in solemn silence. He

refused even to respond to direct questions.

Even tual ly a clearing was reache d where a

large num ber of teepees were pitch ed. It

was quite a wig wam vil lage, and then ce the

t wo captives were escorted to a tent that

s to o d amon g man y others . They were

poli te ly requested to enter , and, on obeying,

they found t ha t the teepee was otherwise

em pty . Several men were post ed on guard

at a little distance f rom the entrance, while

Swift Arrow departed with the rest of his

brethren.

" There's no doubt but that we are

prison ers," rema rked A rno ld, as he sat down

upo n a buffalo hide, prepar ing to make

the bes t of thin gs and t ake his ease while

he might ." T h e whole affair is a puz zl e, " said h is

c o mp a n io n . "' Wh y on earth they should

t ake us prisoners passes m y comp rehe nsio n.

It can't be that they regar d us as enemies.

They would not ha ve be en so poli te a nd

considerate if that had been the ir t hought . "

" That 's just i t ," laughe d Arn old , who,

like his son, had the gift for worrying little

unti l he kn ew exa ctly what to worry about .

"T ha t ' s just what surprises me. W o are

t r ea ted as pri soner s an d not as prison ers.

.My impression is that we are regarded

with more fear than anger . "

The t ime allowed for specula tion was

soon curtaile d by the sound of ma ny voices

approaching the tent , though presently

there was silence, an d a loud voice called to

those within :

" The eyes of Mighty Hand would gladly

rest on the sight of the Wh ite Men ."



50 The "Boy's Obvn Paper.

" He means us ," comm ente d Arnold ,

ris ing from the c o u c h of fur. " He 's to o

pol i te t o enter the teepee unin vited ."

" By all means let his eyes rest upon us ,"

laughed Holden.

The two men then advanced while one

thr ew o pen the flap of the tent . And the

pic ture that met their eyes was one that

struck the strangers with admira tion, f or it

seemed to throw the years back to the d ays

when the Indi an ruled the prairie—the days

tha t kne w the yout h of Ballan tyne an d t he

pri me of Feni more Cooper.

R a n g e d in a semicircle before the tent

was a c r o wd of braves and warriors—all

arrayed in the picturesque garb that wa s

unspoilt b y any to uch of Sax on attire such

as is co mm on ly seen amo ng redskins of

the present day . Ex ce pt tha t the old-time

b o w s and arrows were replace d by m ore

modern muzzle- loaders , there was nothing

to suggest any association with white men

and white men's tastes.

But it was not so muc h the ba ckg rou nd of

na t ives that so impressed the Engli shmen.

Their admira tion was called to the central

figure. H e was an Indi an of enor mous size

—tall, squarely built , and equally propor

tio ned. His head was surmo unted with a

turban of black fox decorated with eagle

feathers that were continued like a wing

right down his back and nearly touching

the groun d. His bla ck hair was threaded

with man y-co lou red beads, some of whi ch

resembl ed (and actuall y were pr ove d to be)

nuggets of pure g o ld : Neckl aces of beads

and animals ' tee th hung in many strands

u p o n the breast of his deerskin shirt. Leg

gings and mo ccasi ns were a mass of beads,

feathers, and por cupi nes ' quills wov en in

intricately fantastic designs. An d. ove r all ,

there hung in graceful folds an ermine r obe

of spotless white.

This was the great chief of the Da cotahs .

Mi ght y Hand was his name, and that hand

was famed for its deeds of valour as, equally,

fo r its deed s of kind ness . He was sole

mona rch of a mig hty branch- tribe of the

Daco tahs that had long been separated fro m

its renegade brethren, preferring to maintain

the ol d life in the for est an d o n the prairie

rather than a work house existenc e in a

Gove rnme nt Reser ve. He led his peopl e

far from the haunts of whi te men, and his

life was only harmful to the game that

suppli ed his peop le 's needs. Po wde r and

other necessaries he obt aine d from frontier

trading stati ons. Bu t he was kn ow n as a

man of peace and a man of spotless hono ur.

H e n c e his irregular life and failure to c o m p l y

with Gove rnm ent Reserve regulations ha d

been hither to winked at by the officials.

W h e n the Englishme n issued from the

tent, this chief was standing before th em

in a majestic att i tude that at once proc la imed

his royal blood . He was unarm ed. This

was a courtesj" to the strangers.

A t the chief's right s ide stoo d Swift

A r r o w ; at th e left wa s a figure tha t formed

a weird contrast t o the other two. This one

was lean, ben t and twis ted like a gna rled

tree tha t had been starved and warped in

the desert. His dress was alike n ati ve,

but the grotesque ornaments of animals '

skulls , tails , dried m onk eys ' hands, an d

oth er gru eso me relics ga ve the wearer an

appearance tha t was repulsive to Saxon

eyes . Th is freak of figure and dress w as

Thunde r-make r, the great Medicine Man of

the tribe. Wit hou t his presence no state

conclave was comp let e ; witho ut his opini on

no tribal law or ruling was ever decided.

It must no t be thoug ht that the time we

have oc cupi ed in describing these several

features was similarly occu pied by the Eng

lishmen in minute ob servati on. No t at all .

Arnold, immedi ately recognising the bearing

of the chief, pr om pt ly addr essed h im in

English, which Migh ty Hand coul d under

stand —jud ging fro m his first salutation.

" Th e whit e brot hers of the redmen are

gladdened by this visit of the great chief,"

he said. " Th e white brot hers have been

in great danger fro m rushing water s—dang er

from which the great chief 's braves snatched

them . Th ey are grateful that their l ives

have been saved, and they are glad to meet

th e chief an d thank him for what was done."

Th e Ind ian li stened in silence, and, at the

pause that followed, he returned in deep

tones, as if he were repeating a lesson that

he had learned by hear t :

" Out from the silver waters, when the moon

is round, they shall come. They shall be

pale-face, and they shall look like men."

Thi s was certa inly a puzz ling rejoin der !

T o neither of the capt ive s did it convey

any knowledge. Arnold, however, deemed

that the bes t course wou ld be to assume no

impression that he and his friend were

regarded as prisoners.

" T h e chief speaks wel l," he returned.

" Bu t his ton gue dece ive s him when he says

that we look like men . Pale-f aces we are.

Bu t we are friends to the redma n. W e

would smo ke the peace-pip e with him. But

we are far fro m our ca mp . At our tents ar c

our young sons who are awaiting our return

with anxious hearts. Perhaps the great

chief has also a son ! He will kn ow , then,

h o w heavy would be the heart of his papoose

if the chief were long absent fro m his teepee.

Wr

e therefore beg that th e chief will hasten

the peace-pip e. Af terwards he will lend

a brave to guide the white brothers bac k

to their camp-ground ."

W hi l e Arnold spoke , there was silence

a m o n g the Indians, and it was obv iou s from

the chie f's face that his mind was disturbed

with indecision.

" Migh ty Han d has lis tened to the wor ds

of the pale-face." the chief said. " Th e

white man's words flow as music, but—' out

from the silver waters, when the moon is

round— ' "

The speaker's voice faded into thoughtful-

ness, and Holden whispered to his c o m

panion :

" Wh at is the fellow driving at ? Wh at

does he mea n b y ' ou t fro m the silver

wat er s ' ? Of course we came out from

waters, but what has tha t to do with

the mo o n , I wonder ? "

" I can't think, unless—yes, I believe

I' ve got it ! It' s full mo on ab ou t this t ime,

Hol den . There' s some India n superstition,

I imagi ne, about full moon and people being

rescued fro m the water— "

" It sounds like that fr om the way he

speaks. Y o u remem ber, Swift Ar ro w said

mu ch the same t hing. "

" The n depend upon it , we' ve hit the mark.

In som e way, we' ve got mix ed up with a

l egend or superstition."

Mi ght y Ha nd had been consulti ng with

Swift Ar ro w while the Englis hmen had been

quiet ly sum min g up the situation, but now

he again fac ed the c apti ves.

" Mig hty Ha nd has live d long, and seen

many wonders and much great medicine.

But to-day there is a clo ud in his mind .

H e understands but dark ly. It wou ld be a

shame that Might y Hand should bring

water t o the eyes of his white brot her' s

papoose, bu t wh o can say if the fiery t ot em

be not calling this day ? Beh old ! "

As he spoke, the chief tore open his deer

skin shirt, and when the Engli shmen bent

forward in curiosity, they saw—upon the

naked breast—the figure of a ser pen t tat

t ooed in gold and r ed so cunning ly that it

seemed as tho ugh a living reptile were there

resting—a rept ile mou lde d from burn ing

flames, wi th head raised in the attitude of

striking.

The men gave a gasp of wonder and sur

prise, and at the same instant the Medicine

Man jum pe d for ward , pointe d a finger to

wards the sign, and turned with an evil

grin towards the strangers.

" Th e to te m of the Se rpent D acot ahs ! "

he hissed through his teeth. " Can the

pale-face look upo n it without fear ? Can

they not feel the poi son- too th break the

cover ing of their flesh ? "

A t this strange attack, Arnold laughed

aloud, and Holden smiled as he said :

" The white men are not cowards ! The y

d o no t shrink be fo re a figure of paint ! "

Th e Medicin e Man threw u p his arms in a

transport of rage.

" Th ey laugh ! Th e whit e men smile at

the sa cre d tot em ! " he cried in a wild appea l

to the sympa thies of the people, who began

to respond with disappr oving murmurs.

" Shall it be that the fiery serpent hear

laughing t ongues while the hands of the

Dacotahs are idle ? Who are they that dare

to revile our sacre d sign with mocki ng eyes

and tongues ? "

Matters were beginning to assume a serious

aspect towards the strangers, for evidently

the M edi cine Man was one whos e lead was

followed by his peo ple , and wh o knew well

h o w to play upon their weaknesses. So

Arnol d haste ned t o try an d pacify the anger

tha t he had inad vert entl y roused.

" My red broth er mist akes, " he said,

addressing Thunder -maker. " The white

man's laughter was at the suggestion of fear.

W e are bra ve men wh o fear nothing. Bu t

we did no insult to the totem of the

Dacotahs— "

" Do g s ! " ex cla ime d the furious Indi an.

" Do g s ! Th e fiery to te m has been defil ed.

Revenge , m y broth ers ! Rev eng e ! lest t he

names Dacot ah and Mighty Hand b e c o me

things for jeers and laughter in the w om en 's

t e n t s ! "

Th e Ind ian was quite frantic wit h passion,

an d as he flung h is wild app eal to his pe op le ,

th e murmurs suddenly burst into a flood of

angry roars—knives wero snatched from

their sheaths, a hundred arms were lifted,

and the circle quickl y closed upon the

helpless men . But just at that moment

of peril and almost inevitable death, t he

gre at figure of Mi gh ty Ha nd was seen to

start. He step ped for ward wi th one stride,

turned his back upon the captives, and then

raised his arms from wh ich his robe h ung



like great prote ctin g wing s that shielded the

strangers beneath their folds. And his

voice rang out abov e the angry cl amou r l ike

th e voice of a wind roaring through the pine

forests. .

" Back, Dacotahs ! Bac k to you r tents

ere the strength of Mig hty Han d is l if ted

and you sink to the dust ! Is this how the

redman treats th e stranger who would smokethe pea ce-p ipe by ou r fire ? Is this th e

welcome that my braves give to those

whom Migh ty Ha nd has receive d with a

smile—with no arms in his hand , no t oma

hawk at his belt ? Ba ck , dogs ! an d hide

your cow-ard faces l ike frightened papo oses

in the skirts of the wo me n ! "

The clam our ceased instantly. Th e men

hung back, and their heads bent with shame,

that is, all heads but that of Thunder-maker .

His face betokened no shame. Nay,

greater fury than ever was depicted, though

he was silenced before the anger of his chief.

But it was only for a little while tha t he

wa s thus disconcer ted, for soon he resumed—

thoug h now he spoke with humb le fawning :

" It is death in the heart of Thunder-

maker when the eyes of Migh ty Han d sh oot

their looks of fire. But—Thunder-maker

speak true. Has he not made great medicine

these ma ny suns ? Di d he no t bri ng th e

thunder to prove his great medici ne ? Has

he not many t imes driven the fever from

the camp, till it fled ov er the prairie like a

coyote driven with st icks and dogs ? Hu h !

many wo nde rs has he don e, and —mo re will

he do . He will do great medici ne this day .

He will sh ow if the fiery to te m hav e called

in vain for vengeance."

Thus speaking, Thund er-ma ker div ed a

hand into the b o s o m of his shirt and drew

out a bund le of dirty l inen. Th e chief had

lowered his ar ms, so tha t the Englishmen

could no w see the Ind ian as he laughed and

held up the bundl e tr ium phant ly ab ov e his

head.

" Great med ici ne ! " h e exc lai me d, fixing

his eyes upo n the w hite me n. " Great

medicine ! Lo o k ! See ! Lis ten ! "

They looked, and as they looked they saw

the linen mo v e , as if something inside were

struggling to be free, and at the same tim e

they heard a soun d l ike the sudden springing

of an old- t ime pol iceman's rattle.

" Rattlesnakes ! " exclai med Arn old unde r

his breath.Thunder-msvker laughed when he saw

that the sound had been recogn ised.

" C o m e ! Co me , m y childr en ! " he c rie d,

as he turned hi s face upwards . " Come,

my little son—come, m y li t t le dau ghter ! "

Then he shoo k the kn ot of the bund le,

and out from the aperture crept two grey-

green bodies—a pair of twisting , writhing

somethings that caused the onlookers to

shudder, and the Medic ine Ma n to la ugh ,

as he repeated carelessly :

" Come, my li t t le p apoo ses ! Y o u will

speak great medic ine in the ears of Thunder-

maker ! "

Slowly the serpents ca me from their covering. One remain ed coiled on the raised

wrists; the other—still soundi ng the

ominous ra t t le—moved slowly downwards

till it rested on the man' s shou lder . Th en

Thunder-maker inclined his head as if

listening to a whisper. Afte rwa rds his face

lit up with unde rstan ding .

The Fiery Totem.

" Hu h ! " he ex clai med . " Di d not the

spiri t of Thun der -mak er spea k true ?

Come, m y li tt le pap oos e ! Y o u shall show

fo r wh om the fiery to tem cal led. "

Turn ing his head so as to look along his

shoulder , the Indian suddenl y grab bed the

writhing repti le with his teeth, after which

(ho ld ing the other serpent with his right

hand) he comm ence d danc i ng unti l he hadcleared an op en circular space of whic h

the Indians and the white men formed the

borders .

Sudd enly ho sprang to the middle and

tossed the snake to the ground while he

uttered a wild shriek.

Once on the earth, the snake glided swift ly

in several dire ction s, while al l watc hed the

creature with tense exc item ent. The n for

a secon d i t seemed to pause with i ts head in

the dire ctio n of the Engl ishm en. At the

same mome nt the Indian gave a cry of

tr ium ph, tuc ked the one snake into a fold

of his robe and bent down, making passes

with his hands abo ve the serp ent on the

gro und. An d, as his hands mo v e d , so the

rat t lesnake gradu ally straighten ed o ut i ts

b o d y till it lay stiff and s traight as a piece

of wo o d .

Thunder-ma ker paused. Then he rose

u p slowly and looked with t r iumph straight

into the chief 's face .

" My children say tha t the t ime has c o me

to take th e c loud f rom the Dacot ah. My

papooses show who ans wer call of fiery

t o t e m ! " *

(J'o be continued.')

¥ ¥ ¥

Something W r o n g Some w he r e !

PROFESSOR (who has left the Lecture Hall in a

hurry) : " It's most extraordinary,—everyone seems to

smile when I pass I "

51

THE BOXSTODE

ACRES.T H E S T O R Y O P A M E M O R A B L E

F O O T B A L L M A T C H .

By GUNBY HADATH.

(In Four Parts.)

PART i y : (continued).

mi iE tow n shrieked for a try. The Man or

L men held up protesting h ands. The ref

eree ca me gallop ing up ; then he motioned for

the dro p out. The garden er had save d his

side by pushing Peter into touch in goal.

" Eh , wha t ? " gr oan ed Mr. Prime , to his

clerk beside him . " We 'r e onl y two poin ts

behind ? Pah ! T w o ' s enough to finish us i

T w o ' s enough ! "

Fur iously the bat t le was rejoined. Eac h

side mu st sco re again ; the o ne to clinc h its

vic tory , the other to keep High Pasture fo r

the Manor . Wh yt ew yx threw defence as ide.

H i gh they flung the ball from hand t o hand,

in what desperate chan ce remain ed of

breakin g through. Bu t their foes were on

the m alwa ys, surging to the onslau ght.

A n d no w the play degenera ted into a

panting scramble, each man fighting for his

own hand . Repea t ed a t t empts to bul lock

thro ugh by one or other of the orange

jerseys were me t by equally reckless rushes

from Evan s and the Gr i f fe-B oxstodes , or

b y huge kick s do wn the wind b y Sir Joh n.

His outsides struggl ed gamel y, but his

forwards , all save Barrables and Ru e lo c k ,

were pla yed to a standsti l l . Fo r Eva ns

was work ing the scrum unaide d now, and

Ru e lo c k had plun ged subli mely into tho

melee.

" W h yt e wy x ! W h yt e— wy x ! " f r om

many frantic throats—as if all the sho uti ng

in tho world could hav e spurre d those worn-

ou t ranks to an y brave r effort .

" W h y t e . . . " A n d there the cry dropped

short, stilled by a tense thrill. For Jack,

in one of his blind rushes, fo und himself

s o me h o w through the ruck, speeding s traight

fo r the ope n and the arms of the three -

quarter against him. He kicke d, and

found touch jus t ove r the hal f -way

line. Then, as the forwards staggered to

the line-out, his father rushed to him,

whispering somethin g in his ear. Th e ladn o d d e d quickly, and as Evans balanced

the ball to throw it out , he clapped his

hands , jum pin g high and call ing Eva ns'

nam e. Ou t, far and straight, the ball

came spin ning , far to the lino's end , where

Ja ck leaped for i t . Wi th bo th hand s he

caught i t , half turned, and threw it to Sir

J o h n .

N o w , as Sir John t o o k the ball , the win d,

st i ll r ising, was b low ing strong behi nd him .

He glan ced qu ick ly up the field, sa w Pet er

Quick diving for his knees , dodged , s tumbled,

r ecovered himself, an d wit h a swi ng of

hi s b o d y he dr opp ed the ball , and kicke d.

W i t h that kick went the last ounce of energ y left to him. He knew , to o, as i t

left his . toes , that he had sped i t t ruly—

would the wind befriend him n ow ?

The W'hytew yx forwards ' heads shot

up, to see i t soaring high above them.

Peter Quic k, scramb ling to his feet , gasped

to ma rk its flight. Th e crowd held their



52 The "Boy's Otetn Taper.

THE VILLAGE CARVERS OF BANBURY.A N I N T E R E S T I N G H A N D - W O R K I N D U S T R Y OF T O - D A Y .

Written and Illustrated by CHARLES J. L. CLARKE.

PART I I .

WH E N peopl e from the Ne w Wo rld , where carv ed wo rk peeping out here and there

civil is ation has sprun g up du ring fro m behi nd a cheap wall-paper, muc h the

recent years and wher e ever ythi ng is " up- wors e for wear. He inves tigated , and

to- dat e," visit Grea t Brit ain they find the came to the conclu sion that the old cottage

Producing a Valuable Panel.

breath. Over Reuben Sleer, half conscious

on ly of the direness of the mo me nt, swept

a cold chill of terror. And so, all eyes

fol lowing i t , the ball , wind-b orne, reached the

ape x of i ts f l ight—and bega n to dro p again.

The town's full-back, almost under his

bar, stretched out hungry arms to i t ; he

leape d to cat ch i t . Bu t i t was descending

out of hum an reach ; i t droppe d, and struck

the bar. Fo r an apprecia ble instant it

oscil lated on tha t bar . And then, very

s lowly, i t toppl ed over—b ehin d the goal !

L o u d blew the whistle, and louder ye t.

Even as Peter Quick was urging his forwards

to the centre, i t ble w again for t im e.

Th e barest margi n, a gust of wind, and

the art of drop- kicki ng learned in the age

when drop-kicking was priceless—these

three had saved High Pasture for Sir Joh n.

H o w his men swarmed round him, spent

but jubi l ant ! Ho w the c r o wd hailed hi m !

H o w the m one y jingl ed in the pock ets of

Mr. Prime ! And how quietly Reuben Sleer

withd rew himself !

The n did the barone t mak e much of

Peter Quick , a gallant adv ers ary ; whileol d Quick himself, deserting his discom fited

ally, was seco nd to no ne in offering his

congratulatio ns. " But yo u shall hav e

Hjgfe Pasture, that yo u shall , s i r ! " Si r

John excla imed, when the last words were

bei ng said. " Eg ad ! Y o u r lad Peter here

deserves i t for y ou ! "

A n d Sir Jo hn kept his wor d. For only a

fe w mo u t h s later H i g h Pasture was made

over to the boro ugh of W y x , as a publ ic

playing-field for e ver. A nd the tablet

hard by its entrance gates records that it

was presented " In com me mor ati on of the

Coronat ion of His Majesty King George

the Fifth," and—as the Mayor and Corpora

t ion have themselves ad de d— " by themunificence of Sir John Boxs todc , of

W h y t e w y x Ma n o r , Bar t . "

But from Reuben Sleer himself, now

ma j'o r for th e fifth ti me , y o u will find it

hard to coax any word of the par t he played

in that generous gift . Som e say that he is

ashamed of i t .

[THE E N D .]

utmos t delight in visit in g our churc hes and

ant ique publ i c bui ld in gs , where such th ings

as art is t ic woo d-ca rvin g f ree ly exis t . Fe wpeop le have an y ide a of the value of well-

e x e c u t e d specimens of the wood-carver ' s

art , esp ecial ly if i t be old oak work . I

have come across many surpr is ing examples

of th is .

A friend of mine, who was on a visit to a

quaint old vil la ge in the We st of Engl and

wa s elat ed to find, bes ide s a mag nif icen t old

black oak mantelshelf , little pieces of

was of great age, and heavi ly panelled w ith

rich oak carv ings. Bei ng not only a col-

lector, but a com merc ial ly-m ind ed man, hemad e inquiri es and eventu ally purchased

the little buil ding , agreei ng, among st other

condi tions , which to the own er seemed

absurdly generous, to pull the old cottage

d o w n and rep lace it wit h a much larger and

bet ter mo d e r n o n e .

Wh en the w ork was comple ted the pur

chaser had every reason to be more than

satisfied, as the old carv ed oak he found

concea led in the bui ldin g fetche d a price

whic h not on ly sho wed an excellent profit

after the new cott age had been built and

the purcha se mon ey paid, but left him with

large pieces , incl udin g the mantelshelf , of

whi ch even the mos t fastidious colle ctor

migh t be proud.

Th is is not an isola ted case of the e x

tremely great value of carved oak work,

although in both this and the next instance

the value was enh anced owing to the age of

the pieces. On the old coachi ng road to

Br ighton, a t Crawley, stands the George

Ho t e l , whi ch years a go had been ma de as

mo der n as these old inns can be , but whe n

the house chan ged hands the new propr ie tor

had a thoroug h examinat ion of the bui ld in g

made, wi th the result that behind the

vene er of mod ern paper and plaster, he dis

covered a beautifu l set of old oak carvi ngs

and beams , with an ancient f ireplace, and

even some specimens of o ld-w or ld cooking

appl iances .

Aft er the old carvi ngs had been un

covered and the entranc e hall and dining-

r o o m made to display the beauties of thecarv er 's art , the place presente d an

appearance which at t racted hundreds of

wea lthy pat rons, w ho came not only to

en joy t he good far e of min e host , but to

feast their eyes upon the old oak carvings,

and to-d ay the value of the proper ty has

been cons ide rably enhanced by the work Room in Broughton Castle ornamented by the Pupi ls of the C arv in s School.



The Village Car-Vers of "Banbury. 53

ONE TOUCH OF NATURE

A T R U E S T O R Y O F A N A S I A T I C E L E P H A N T .

By H. HBRVBY.

Th e Finished Product.

of the woo d-carvers of bygone years having

been expos ed to the publ ic eye .

W o o d - c a r v in g requi res few too ls , an d

offers the utmost possibil i t ie s for care ful

an d artistic wor k, and any bo y wi th

pat ience can produ ce credi table examp les .

It is a hobby that is bot h a pleasant and

a profi table recreation, for there is hardly

any limit to the uses to which it may be

put.A t least one ch urc h has rec ent ly been en

riched by the gift of a beautiful ly c arve d

table, designed and wo rke d by a st udious

lad duri ng his spare mo me nt s in a news

paper off ice ; an d a clerk in the Patent

Office and a comm erci al man hav e bot h, to

my knowl edge , added t o their homes some

striking piece s of car ved oak whic h would

have cost their owners ,

a great deal of money

if the y had been pur

chased in the ordi nary

way.

Lady Alg ernon Gor

do n Len nox i s jus t ly

pro ud of her class of

vil lagers and theirwork , which has

trained many of the

countr y peo ple to add

to trheir knowl edge and

become capable of pro

ducing valuable hand

work, for which our

country has alwa ys

been famous, besides

providi ng a pleasant

and entertaining way

of passing the autumn

and winter evenings,

•which in the c ount ry

are always apt to be

come dull and tedious.

T h e y are busy folk in

Banbury at this t ime

of the vear.

MB. TALBOT K I R K H A M, th e boy-hero of

this story, is no w a grow n ma n.

Mattei-s con nec ted with his business b rou ghthim down to South Ind ia the other day ; w e

met, and whe n in the course of conve rsatio n

I asked if he had exper ienc ed any adv en

tures in Bengal, he told mo this story, which

I give as nearly as possible in his ow n wor ds.

Awa y north-e ast of Calcutta , in a com

paratively unopened jungle-encumbered re

gion, they were laying a metalled road from

Hbtepoonjoe southwards to Suparpore, a

distanc e of abo ut fifty miles. The original

nati ve-m ade r oad wrigg led like an eel,

traversed swamps, and twice encountered

an unbridgcd, swift ly flowing t r ibutary of

the Barak River; whereas the new track,

besides being straighter, on better grou nd,

and shorter, met the stream only once.

Hotepoonjee was a purely native town, and

the residenc e of a pett y Ra jah ; while

Suparpore, a small civil stat ion, boa sted of

a few European officials and planters. Rail

ways had yet to come.

A sub-engineer named Thomas Kirkham

held charge of the road -makin g ; and n ow

that the propos ed track had been denu ded

of vegetation and actual construction started,

Kirkham struck his tents and built himself

a temporary bamboo-and-mat bungalow

midway, near the jungle hamlet of Faizgunj,

so that he could ride out in either direction

to supervise the several parties under native

assistants, operating at various points along

the route.

The cou ntry was well kn ow n to harbou r

wild animals, but the y had n ot pro vedaggressive excep t at the new ly established

ferry, where during the night tigers had

carried off so me wayfa rers by lyin g in wa it

and pounci ng on their victims as they t opp ed

the bank to continue their journey. This

so alarmed the ferrymen that now they

ceased plyi ng after sunset , when they woul d

lug aw ay the boa t to a villa ge som e distan ce

A Sample of the Carvers' W o r k .

d o wn stream, not to return till the morning,

Needless to say that , in conseq uenc e of the

tigers and the abse nce of the ferry bo at, noon e wen t near the river-crossing during the

night.

Kir kh am had his wife with him, also their

only child Talbot, aged twelve, wh o had

rece ntly been sent from his school in Calcutta

owing to the outb reak of sma llpo x amongst

th e boys . The l i t t le family and their fe w

servants were com ple tely isolated and had

to depend on themselves, for the vil lagers

of Faizgunj were " junglifie d," ignorant, and

of l i t t le use whatsoever.

The story opens on a da y when the Raj ah

of Hotep oonje e passed Faizgunj en route to

visit the shrine of the go dde ss Kal i, south of

Suparpore, as cholera had broke n out in his

little State, and the deity must be pro

pit iated. The potent ate and his suite rode

on three gorgeo usly caparison ed elephants,

with gilded howda hs on their backs; four

more of the gigan tic animals carr ied the

baggage and supplies, while two others,

spare, bore only guddhees or pads. Som e of

th e followers rode pon ies ; the major i ty

foots it, eac h wit h a bu ndl e on his head or

across his shoulders.

Yo u n g Talbot watched the procession

with the liveliest interest, for he had n ever

yet seen elephan ts outsi de the Calcutta Zo o,

where he, with other youngsters, had occa

sionally ridden a poor spec imen of the genus

at school treats and so forth.

A small clearing had been made just be

y o n d the bun galo w purp osel y for travellers,

and here the Rajah's party halt ed for a short

rest. The Kirkh ams, loo king on f rom theirverandah, not iced tha t a great tusker, one

of the pa d elephants, with no one riding hi m,

dragged a chain attached to the off hind

foot, and that ever yon e, barring his mahout,

or keeper, gave the creature a wide berth.

Further, when the travellers mo v e d on , this

elephant wa s left behind, chain ed by the

forefoot to a large tree, with the mahout an d

his mate in charge. Kirk ham , acco mpa nied

by his son, went out to inquire the reason.

" W hy does this elep hant rema in here ? "

deman ded Kirkh am in Hindustani of the

mahout.

" He is in a bad temper, sir, and threatens

to kill peo ple ; so the Ra jah ord ered us to

keep the animal here till his return."

" Ba d temp er ? " repea ted Kir kha m reprovingly, point ing to bleeding goad-w ounds

on th e poor brute's forehead and temples.

" No wonder, if you maltreat him like that ,

when kindness wou ld have p rob abl y pacified

h i m."

" W h a t could be do ne , sir ? H e was dela y

ing us ; the R aj ah wa nte d to hurry on, as

cholera has broken out at Hotepoonjee, and

along the old roa d, whi ch mad e us take this

one, althoug h i t is unfinished. Alrea dy have

we lost two of our men since leaving."

No mor e was said ; father and s on re

turned to the bungal ow, and presently Mr.

Kirk ham , moun ting his horse, rode away to

inspect the work, while Talbot l ingered in

the verandah, with his eyes on the ca ptiv e

elephant. Lov ing animals dearly, he pit ied

this one, and wou ld have gladly dressed those

cuts on the head if he had be en able. As it

was he went out to have another look at the

prisoner standing there in disgrace, and to

liis astonishment he found that no food ha d

been placed before the animal. The two men

squ atte d a short dista nce off, taki ng alternate

pulls from a glowing chillum or tobacco-pipe.



54 The "Boy's Otetn Taper.

" Wh at is his name ? " que ried the b oy of

the men in Hind ustan i, in dicati ng the

elephant.

" Agh a, sir. D o not go to o close ; he is

not to be trusted."

" W h y d o n ' t y o u give him something to

eat ? "

" T o co o l his tem per , sir. As a punish

men t we will not feed or water him for twenty-

four hours, and then give only a little, accord

ing as his mood imp r o v e s . "

" Wha t a shame ! " excla imed Talb ot

indignantly.

" Sir," rejoined the keeper, laughing,

" you are a young sahib (European gentle

man) , and kno w noth ing abou t these crea

tures. W ith o u t zubberdusthi (coercion, strong

measures) we cann ot have th em under s ub

j ec t ion . "

Preoccupied with his thoughts, the lad

retired to the bunga low , but still kep t a

watch on the elephant. Anon, he saw the

men lift up their bundles and go towa rds the

village, probably to cook their fo o d and

remain there till late. N ow was his tim e !

Mrs. Kirkham, kind and indulgent, allowed

her son to roam at will, for she knew he

would not stray far ; kne w him to be a

p l u c k y little chap, who could take care of

liim self; and as there was no one else aboutwho could interfere with him, the coast was

clear.

He hied out and st ood before the elepha nt,

.contemplating him with admiration. " Agha ,

poor Ag ha ; shame to keep you hungry ! "

he presently mu rmur ed alou d, seeing that

the beast made abortive at tempts to get at a

y o u n g wild plantain-tree whi ch stoo d just

b e y o n d his reach.

On hearing the boy's voice the elephant

ceased strugg ling , and, fixing his keen l ittle

eyes on the speaker, regarded hi m expec

tantly. Talbot, being now sure that the

brute hungered, immed iatel y attacke d t he

plantain-tree with his jack-k nife, cut thr ough

the succulent stem flush with the ground,

and then, exerting all his young strength,

threw the tree towards the elephant. Wit h

a low grumble, evident ly of satisfaction,

Agha seized it with his trunk, and speedily

devoured every morsel. W i l d plantains grew

in profusion ; three more trees were similarly

dealt with. Ag ha ate the m, but, refusing

the fifth, he beg an fidgeting an d grum bli ng.

" Oh ! I kno w," e jacu la ted the bo y ;

" he wants water. I 'll fetch som e in a

bucket ." Cutting bac k to the s tables and

evadi ng the servants, he stole off wit h a

bucket, filled it from a pond close by, and

again approache d the pr isoner . But now

a difficulty presented itself—how to place

the bucket near enough for Agha to drink

from ? H e had been tol d that the animal

was in a fit of bad t em pe r; so bad as to

require punishment by capti vity and starvat ion . How could he , then, go within scope

of that prehensile trunk, that had snatched

up those plantain-trees as if the y had been

straws, and whipped them into the cavernous

mouth underneath ?

Ta l b o t sto od irresolute, with the b uck et

at his fee t; bo y and beast gazed fixedly at

each other for som e secon ds. There w as

nothing impatient or threatening in the

mien of the la t ter; to the contrary, Talbot

seemed to note a softened expression on the

m a m m o t h face. The lad regained courage,

and at length, lifting the bucket, he boldly

adv anc ed and put it well withi n reach of the

towering qua dru ped . T o his infinite relief,

Ag h a sucked up all the water with his trunk,

and, after discharging it into his mouth,

res ume d his gru mb li ng and fidgeting." He wants more ," thought the bo y ;

whereupon, taking the bucket, he fetched it

three times full to the brim, no longer

hesitating to approach the tusker. He drank

only a port ion of the fourt h buck et, and as

Ta l b o t s tooped to take the vessel, Agha

gently touched him with his trunk. Perhaps

it was uninten tional , nevertheless Talb ot

returned the compli ment by stroking the

hawser- like appendage. Agha took th e

caress in perfect good huinour, and thus an

understanding, an entente cordiale, was estab

lished between them.

The high-spirited b oy was naturally elated

at the idea of havi ng mad e friends with a

beast reput ed to be so danger ous, and with

which his owner could do nothi ng. He was

a straig htforwa rd, honest little fellow, bu t

at the same time he knew that if he told his

parents what he had been doin g, the y might

take the alarm and prevent him from further

associating wit h his new- foun d friend. He

resolved therefore to keep silence, bide his

time, cultiva te Agh a in the meanw hile, an d

if he succeed ed in " tam ing " him , then he

would invite his father and mother to witness

his maste ry ov er the big beast.

That evening Talbot saw the keeper come

from the vill age, depo sit a small bundl e of

fodder before Agh a, and, withou t waterin g

him, go aw ay again, eviden tly for the night.

Ne x t morning, when Mr. Kirkham went

out on the works and the coast was again

clear, Talb ot vis ited Agha. The poor brute

was ravenous, so you ng Kirkha m repeated

the perfo rman ce of the previou s day , supply

ing the pac hyd er m wit h forage and water.

" I wo nd er ," said the lad half aloud , as he

n ow fearlessly stood by the huge form, " if

he wou ld do as I hav e seen the C alcutt a Zo o

elephant do, and sit down if I told him ? "

H e looked up into the rugged face and saw

noth ing there to frighten hi m.

" Baito, Ag ha ! " said the b oy , half in fear,

and holding himself ready to jump back.

Bu t he had no cause for alarm, the elepha nt

at once doci le ly sa t down. Thus reassured,

the b oy eame nearer, a nd could now see all

the cruel wo und s on Agh a's head. " Oh,

poor fellow ! " he murmur ed concernedly,

" h o w could they b e so unkin d ! Father uses

eocoanut-oil for sores on his horses ; perhaps it would do you good. I 'll go and

fe tch s o me . " Quietly regaining the house

he t o o k the oil bottle unobse rved and

hastened back.

Ag h a had risen to his feet, but again sat

d o w n at the w ord. Before proceeding

further, the b oy reflect ed : wha t if the oil

smarted, and the elephant, thus enraged,

killed him as he stood within reach of pro

boscis an d tusks ? Ho wev er, after a short

pause, he dec id ed to make the venture, and,

speaki ng a few wor ds to the animal, he

pou red a dro p or two of the oil on the

smallest wound, his heart going pit-a-pat as

he did so. No , Ag ha made no sign of

irri tat ion; indeed, he remained stock still,

as if comprehending what was being done,

and approving of it.Emb o l d e n e d by Agha's placidity , the lad

anoi nted eve ry wou'ad, and told the el ephan t

to get up, which he prom ptl y obeyed. Talbot

n ow discovered that the chain was not

secured to the animal's foot by a padlock,

as he had seen used on the Calcutta Zoo

elephant, but by the end link being passed

over a blunt hook, deep enough to prevent

it unfa sten ing o f itself. " I thi nk I could

undo tha t , " soliloquised Ta lb ot ; " and if I

can, I will take him to the pond for water

instead of bringing it in the bu cke t. "

But " man proposes and G od dispose s."

Talbot little dream ed of what lay in store

fo r him.

That evening Mr. Kirkham returned h o me

compla in ing of illness. He dis mou nte d with

difficulty, and bef ore he had been ten minut esin the house his wife realised that he was

seized with that dreaded scourge—cholera.

The poor wo ma n, half beside herself, put

h im to bed as soon as possible, and d id all

she knew to doctor him from their c a m p

medicine ch es t; but the disease woul d not

be denied. B y 10 P. M . Mrs. Kir kham faced

the awful fact that she could do no more,

an d that unless medical aid came the case

would pro bab ly end fatally. There was

the Civil surgeon at Suparpor e, twenty-five

miles off ; but h ow was he to be sum mon ed,

except by messenger ? She well kne w that

her servants, albeit if sent in a body an d

armed with guns and torches, would refuse

to underta ke the jou rn ey ; indeed, if they

even overcame their terror of wild beasts,

they could not cross the river, as the ferry

would not be available for reasons already

stated.

Could not one of the servants, though,

ride her hus ban d's horse ? She went across

to the outhouses, where in their fear of the

cholera they had shut themselv es in. She

questioned them, implored them, br ibed

them , but all declin ed, affirming with truth

that the current of the river w oul d over

wh e l m bo th horse and rider befor e the y were

half wa y. Ala s ! yes, the ferry boat, she

remem bered , was carried dow n stream to an

immense distance in making the passage.

The n the recollec tion of the river-bank man-

eaters pu t the finishing to uc h ; n o one wou ld

go fo r love or money , and the miserable

w o m a n began to despair.

Immediately on assuring herself that her

husba nd suffered from cholera, Mrs. Ki rkham

had ordered Talbot to stay at the further

side of the bung alo w, to lessen the ch ance of

infection. The boy obeyed, but he kept

awake, and had heard his mother's piteous

appeal to the servants. She no w • into

the front v era nda h and call ed for her son.

" Oh, Tal darli ng! " she whimpered , on

his co mi ng to her, " wh at am I to do ?

Yo u r father is very ill, and there is no way

to send t o Suparpore for the doc to r till day

lig ht ! It is on ly a little past ten now, and

I do not know what may happen in the

next few hours. Eve ry servant refuses to

go on any terms."

This was no news to h i m ; he had heardall, and, young though he was, he grasped

the gravi ty of the obstacles that hindered

the dome sti cs from obey in g his mother.

Bu t his min d had be en bu sy ; his youn g soul

had bre athed prayers to Go d, asking for

counsel in this dire extremity, and God had

answered him. Al mo st before Mrs. Kirkh am

ceased speaking Talbot rushed out of the

house without saying a word of explanation

to his mother . He well knew she would

forbid him from carrying out his intention

had he made it know n to her; so by the

time Mrs. Kirkham, after vainly calling him,

went bac k to the sick-ro om, he was out in

the faint starlight at Agha's standing-place.

H e had seen the keeper feed and water him

that afternoon, for the period of twenty-four

hours' punishment was over. Possibl y thet wo men migh t be sleeping by their charge,

if s®, he resolve d to act wit hout awaki ng

the m. Bu t no, the y were not there ; Agha

s tood alone.

Ta l b o t called the tusker by nam e ; he a t

once turned his head and gave a snort, as if

of welcome. Without hesitation the plucky

lad went up, stroked the animal's trunk,

s tooped, unhooked the chain, and then

uttered the words " Baito, Agh a ! " Tho ugh

k n o wi n g he was now untethered, the elephant

made no at tempt to move off, but pr omp tl y

sat do wn as ordered. Gent ly patt ing th e

beast, the bo y scarcely realising what he

was doing, spoke in English : " Ag ha ," he

murm ured, " Go d has told me to trust in

you . My father is sick, and y ou must take

me to Suparpore for the doctor ."Whether he understood or not, Agha

emitted a grunt, seemingly of acquiescence.

Talbot , remembering how the Calcutta Zoo

elephant was contr oll ed, tore a switch from

the nearest tree, scrambled on to tho pad,



" One Touch o_f feature." 55

and , grasping the cross-rope, gave the com

mand to rise. Agha immedi ately regained

his feet and, guided by the switch, walked

o n to tho ro ad and turned south towards

.Suparpore.

Sore though his heart "as at the conscii us

ness of his father's da nger, Tal bo t had n o

fears n o w; he expe rien ced a sensation of

exhilaration when he realised his positio n,

riding a strange elep hant at dea d of nigh t ona matter of life and death !

Agha needed no urging; once on the road

he shuffled alon g at his fastest, as if divi ni ng

the vital importance of his errand. The

bo y was silent, engrossed in his own thoughts,

while, strange to relate, the animal occasion

ally raised his t runk and felt about with it

for his rider—-a mov em en t appa rent ly ow ing

to the fact that the lad's weight was so

insignificant as to cause the beast to doubt

whether ho still carried a rider. Wei rd

•sounds issued from-the jungle on both sides

of the track, and dim four-footed forms

every now and then flitted across to their

fron t; but they met no huma n beings, and

the few villages that abutte d on the road

were wrapped in darkness and slumber.

In due course th ey reache d the river, six

teen miles; and, that obstacle passed, Talbot

knew that he had onl y nine miles more to

cover ere arriving at his destina tion. He

guessed it to be about three in the mo rnin g

now—an uncanny hour, and while Agha

paused at the water's edge to drink, the la d

shuddered as he contemplated the sombre,

swiftly flowing river, here a good hundred

yards broad. He kne w not wha t was before

hi m: crossing a deep, racing river by

night on a swimming pad-el 3phant was

quite a different thing from riding that pad-

elephant o n dry grou nd ; a nd the poor little

fellow's heart well-nigh failed him. Bu t he

trusted in God, and by now he had learned

to rely on his du mb frien d; as Agh a had

brought him in safety thus far, so would the•dear brute carry hi m in safety acro ss the

river.

" Go on, Agh a, " he said, when the beast

finished drinking. Slowly and carefully did

the elepha nt advan ce into the strea m a nd

gradually sink lower. Th e b oy clun g to the

pad-rop e, loo kin g fearfully at the curren t

surging against Agh a's side, and ho pin g that

he would sink no further. But when the

animal " lost soundings " and plung ed for

ward into deep water, his whole b o d y save

the upper part of the he ad and t ip of the

t runk beca me sudd enly immerse d, and all in

a mo men t Talbo t lost hold of the rope a nd

was whirled , shrieking, awa y. He could not

s w i m ; he vainly tried to keep afloat, and

was abou t goin g under , wh en he felt himself

seized by the middl e, jerk ed int o the air,

and then lowered on to some solid substance,which pro ved to be the elephant 's h ead, and

there he was now secur ely held by the up

raised trunk. Agha had saved him !

Bravely the good brute swam for the

oppos i te shore, maintaining a grip on his

little rid er; and it was no t till he touc he d

ground again and was well abo ve the water 's

surface that he released the bo y and low ere d

hi s proboscis .

Presently th ey emerge d from the river,

fa r down, and here Talbot turned A g h a

up-st ream, so as to regain the roa d. As

T a lb o t found himself on terra firma and

realised that , under G od , he o we d his escape

to the noble creature that carried him, he

thre w his small arms as far as the y wo ul d go

round tho ponderous neek, kissed the rough

hide, and amid a flood of tears poured out

his grati tude to the du mb animal who ha d

thus preserved his life and repaid a thousand

fold the services whic h the b oy had rendered

him in his captivity.

Little remains to be told . Afte r twic e

losing the way, they reached Suparpore by

sunrise, and great was the asto nish men t

when peop le saw a soli tary l i t tle Euro pean

lad, dishevelled, bedraggled, r iding on the

pad of an onorm ous elephant.

Making known his errand to th e first

policeman he met, he was promptly con

duc ted to the hospital. Th e Civil surge -m

happened to be there ; Tal bot hurriedly told

his tale, and implored the officer to return

with him at once. The good doc t o r , recog

nising the urgen cy of the case , agree d with out demur, poc ket ed the necessary medicines,

and moun ted Agha wi th the boy.

Again did the sagaciou s elephant appear

alive to wha t was required of him ; again

di d he seem desirous of proving his affection

fo r that l i t t le lad who had show n kindness

to him ; for, putt ing his best foot forward,

he soon brough t the m to the ferry. He

swam on ahead, and was ready to receive

them when the boat touched the further

ban k. Her e, resu ming his fast amb le, he

literally dev ou re d the distan ce, and finally

sat dow n in front of the Kirk ham s' bun galo w

at abo ut two in the afternoon. Tal bot had

not risked his life in vain, for, thanks to an

Almig h ty Prov iden ce, the doct or had arrived

just in time , an d after a stiff fight with de ath

hi s patient safely passed the crisis.

Tha t Tal bot was idolised goes wi t hou tsay ing; and for Agh a there was nothing too

good. The Kirkhams t o o k charge of him

from that day forth, ignoring his two-

at tendants and regaling him with sugar-cane

and such -like dainties de ar to his species .

W h e n , a fortnight later, the Rajah of

Hotepoonjee passed through on his return

journey, Kirkh am, wh o had sufficiently

recovered to do so, visi ted the pri nce in his

c a mp , and told him the whol e story. The

Raja h was greatly impressed, praised Tal bot

fo r his pluc k, and p romi sed to send h im a

token of his appreciat ion.

Some days later a parcel arrived from

Hotepoonjee , in which was enclosed a

vernacular letter, begging the b o y ' s accept

ance of the accom pany ing t r ibute to hisbrav ery. It cons isted of the ima ge in solid

gold of a tusker elephant bearing a pad, on

which was seated the figure of a Eur ope an

boy. The m odel , som e four inches high,

s tood on a blackwood plin th, fitted wit h a

plain gold plate, which , as the Rajah's letter

explaine d, was intend ed for an inscription of

dedicat ion, an d this the Rajah asked Kirk

ham to have engraved in English by some

on e in Calcutta, as such could not be properly

done at Hot epo onj ee. The inscriptian, when

comple ted , read as follows : —

" Presented by the Rajah of Hotep oonj ee

t o '

M A S T E R TALBOT K I R K H A M ,

As a mark of admiration for his courage

in ridi ng a strang e elep han t at

night from Faizgunj vil lage to

Suparpore, twenty-five miles, to

summon medieal aid for his

father, when suffering

from cholera .

" O N E TOUCH OF NATURE MAKES T H E WHOLE

WORLD K I N . "

^

THE "B. O. P ." PHOTOGRAPHER:

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

P ROBABLY al l amateur phot ographer s

have at som e tim e or oth er felt a

desire to make a few lantern sl ides from

some of their best nega tive s, or poss ibly

-to make an enlar ged n ega tiv e of s ome par

t icular friend photog rap hed by them in a

group or otherwise , and w hic h in t he

original was to o small to give compl e t e

satisfaction. T o such phot ogra pher s the

simple device described in this art icle may

be of some service , and i t is exc eed ing ly

•easy to mak e and co sts very little.

A general view of the complete apparatus

ca n be obtained from a glance ai fig. 1.

(See next page.) I t wil l be notice d thatthere are two cameras, A and u, fixed face

to face on a stand, D, and conne cted by a

light-ti ght sleeve , c, bet wee n the lens of

on e camera and'the lens board of the other.

In fig. 1, (1) sho ws the general app ear anc e

of th e apparatus when both cameras are the

same size, and (2) the appe ara nce wh en

the y are of different sizes.

By J. O. BROWN.

The first part of the apparatus to which

we will turn our at tention is the basebo ard,

D, fig. 1. I f the ca mer as are bo th the

same size, the top of this will be made all

in one piece , as in fig. 1 (1) an d fig. 2. T o

const ruct thi s , t ake a piece of wood J in.

thic k, 3§ in. wid e , and 2 ft. lo ng (o r, in

the a lternati ve, twi ce as lon g as one of

the came ras with i ts be l lows ful ly ex

tended (measurement B, fig. 5 ), and afte r

planing i t smoo th and roundi ng off the top

edge at ea ch end (fig. 2, A, A ) , mak e a

slot j in. wid e do wn the midd le to within

2 in. of eac h end (fig. 2, BB ) . This

slot is to admi t of the came ra screws bei ngput throu gh the boar d from undern eath,

to fasten the cameras in posi t ion , and at

the same t ime allo ws the cam eras to be

mo v e d back and forw ard along the boa rd

into such posit io ns as are desi red to suit the

work in hand.

I f the ca mera s crew is not long enou gh

to reach thro ugh the thic kness of the b oard ,

a rabbet i in. wi de should be mad e under

neath at each sid e of t he slo t (fig. 3, A).

Th is rabbet shou ld be mad e sufficiently

o!eep to al l ow the scre w to pro jec t § in.

a b o v e the top surfa ce of the b oard (fig.

3, B ) . The legs, E , E , fig. 2, ar e ma de

of pi eces o f wood 3 | in. wi de by 2^ in. h igh

b y 1£ in. thick, rel ie ved by a ro und- topp ed

open ing 1£ in. wid e by 1 in. high. The se

are screw ed to the basebo ard i in. fro m

each end (D, D , fig. 2) . Wh e n this ha s

been don e, a piec e of cloth should be glued

to the to p of the bo ard , a nd the ends

carrie d over the ends of the board and

tacked underneath, to make everythingneat (E , fig. 1) . Af te r the glue has set,

the cl oth cov erin g the slot should be cut

rou nd b y the edg es of the slot with a sharp

penkni f e , and remov ed. Fig . 2 sho ws the

appe aranc e of the basebo ard com ple te, ex

c e p t for the c loth cover i ng.

T h e baseboard shown in fig. 1 (2), and

mo r e cle arly in fig. 4, wh ic h is used w he n



50 The "Boy's Otvn Paper.

there are two different sizes of cameras, is

very similar to the simple one alr eady

descr ibed, bu t takes more making. B e f o r e

c o mme n c i n g to make it, the camera s in

tended to be used should be examined, and

th e fo l low ing measurements taken : —

(1) The distance f rom the baseboard to

the ce ntr e of the lens (fig. 5, A) on each

camera.

(2) The length of each camera f rom back

t o fron t when the bel lows are full y ex

tend ed (fig. 5, B) .

W h e n these have been ascerta ined, tw o

pieces of board, 3 | in. wid e by | in. th ick ,

should be obtained, one 3 in. longer than

the measurement, E , of one camera, and

will be made as before described, of w o o d

3J in. w id e by 2 in. high b y 1£ in. th ick ,

and the other will be highe r by the

height of the step D (fig. 4) . Th e top of

the baseboard will be covered with cloth

as before described.

Having finished with the baseboard, we

will nex t turn our attention to the con

nect ing sleeve (c , fig. 1) . Th e dimen sion s

of th is are ascert ained as fo l low s :—The

lens of one of the cameras is screwe d out

and the d iamet er of the hole in the lens

board is measur ed. Th e extern al diameter

o f the front o f the lens on the other came ra

is then measu red. Th e sleeve is then made

o f w o o d , as shown in fig. 6, which shows

Fia, I

\

1 ,<£>B

the o ther 3 in. longe r than the correspond

ing measure ment on the ot her camer a.Th e s e should be slotted d o wn the centre, as

alread y d escr ibed , to with in 2 in. of one

end and 4 in. of the ot her e nd of eac h

board . The measurements, A, of ea.ch

camera shoul d no w be com par ed, and the

difference ascertained. When this differ

ence has been found , the two piec es of the

base board must be fastened to geth er in the

cent re (b y over lapp ing 3 in. and sc rewi ng

toget her—se e fig. 4) , so that the top of the

b o a r d on which the smal ler cam era is fixed

is higher than the top of the b oard on wh ic h

the larger camera is fixed, by the diff erence

b e t we e n the measurements, A, on eac h

camera. Thi s will make the centres of the

lenses in a line with each other wh en the

cameras are fixed to the baseboa rd

(fig. 1 (2 )) . I f necess ary, an ext ra pieceof w o o d mus t be put in to mak e up t he

requisit e differenc e in heig ht (fig. 4. A ) .

In th is case the legs will have to be of

different height s. Th e shor t leg, fig. 4, B,

its general appea rance (1), and also a sec

t ional v iew of it (2) . Th e piece of w o o d of wh i c h th is is forme d can be turned up on

a lathe in a fe w minu tes, and the holes can

be bor ed thro ugh it with two different sizes

o f centre-b its. • It is immateria l, how

ever , whet her the outsi de of the large end,

B (fig. 6) , be rou nd o r not , and it can be

lef t square if a lathe is not availab le, b ut

the end A (fig. 6) mus t b e ro un d, as it

has to fit c lose ly into the hole in the lens

b o a r d of one of the cameras . Conse quen tly,

if it cannot be turned on a lathe, it mu st

be cut round w ith a chisel or po cke t knife.

A s tr ip of vel vet should be glue d round

the ins ide of the hole in the en d B, and also

roun d the outsi de of the end A (v, v ,

fig. 6) . The hole at B should be made of

such a size as will , when lined with the

ve lve t , fit c lose ly over the front of the lensof one of the came ras simil ar to a c ap

(fig. 6 (2), c ). The end A should be made

sligh tly tape red, and o f such a size as will ,

wh e n covered with ve lve t, be sligh tly less

than the hole in the l ens b oar d at the

narrow end, and slightly larger at the other

end. Thi s will enable a light-tig ht joi nt

to be easily and effectually made whe n the

end is pres sed into the lens hole of the

ca mer a (fig. 6 (2) r>).

Th e remaining part of the appara tus con

sists of the negat ive hold er (fig. 7) .

Thi s should be made out of a piece of w o o d

the same size as one of the d ark slid es of

the camera, and with a tong ue on each

edge (fig. 7, T ), similar to those on thedark slide, to enable it to be slipped into

the back of the camera (fig. 8, A ) . A

hole , H (fig. 7), should be cut in the mi dd le

o f it, in. less each way than the negative

wh i c h it is to hol d. A rabbet (it, fig. 7) ,

-3

3

^ in . wide , should then be cut rou nd the

edges of the ho le and d eep enou gh to ensur e

the plate being level with the wood when

put in. Small bras s but ton s (B, fig. 7) ,

sc rewed on at e ach si de of the ho le will

suffice to hold the negati ve in positi on.

T h e negative should be put in the holder

upside down with the glass side outwards

(B , fig. 8). Th e pict ure will then be right

wa y up on the gr ound-gl ass screen when

focussing. Thi s negat ive hold er can be

slid from side to side along the grooves to a

limited extent to enable any particular partof the ne gative to be mo v e d into the middle

direc t ly opp osi te the lens, if the who le

negative is not to be enlarged or reduced.

T h e dark slides belo ngi ng to the camera

can be used to hold the lantern plates when

the exp osur e is made . If the camera is a

quarter-plate one , it will be necess ary to

resort to a simple device to keep the plate

in its plac e in the slide , and pr eve nt it

f rom slippi ng abou t, seeing that a lantern

plate is 1 in. shorter than a quarter-plate.

T w o s tr ips of cardboard 3£ in. long by

i in . wi d e , an d the same thi ckne ss as t he

plate, s hou ld be cut and p ut at each side

of the plat e in the slid e. Thi s will

effectually kee p the p late in its positio n in

the mi dd le of t he sl ide (fig. 9, p plate,

c , c strips of cardboard) .

W h e n th is has been d one, nothing re

mains to comp lete the appara tus but to put

it together.

T w o metal washers should be secured to

fit over the came ra screws, and come be

twee n the heads of the scre ws and the slot

in the base boar d ( w, fig. 3). The

cameras should then be fixed loosely to the

baseb oard b y the sc rews not being screwed

very tig htly , and th e lens of one camera

should be rem ove d and the end A of the

connec t ing sleev e (fig. 6) should then be

pre sse d firmly in to the hole in the l ens

b o a r d , the end B being pushed over th e

lens of the othe r came ra (fig. 1, c, and

fig. 6 (2 )) . Th e selected negative is then

put into its hold er (fig. 7) and sli pped i nto

on e of the came ras (fig. 8) , and the wh ole

appara tus is then pla ced on a table close

to th e wi n d o w with the negative towards

the light.

I f it should be a dull day, the ground-

glass screen can be turned up out of the

way on top of the camera, as in fig. 1

(1) , F, but if the sun is shining d ire ctl y

on to the negative, it will be advi sabl e t o

cover the negative with the screen by al low

ing it to remain down, as at F, fig. 1 (2).

Y o u ca n then focus the negative on the

ground- glass screen of the other c amera in

the usual way, using a focussing cloth to

exc lude the light. It ma y be advi sable ,

tho ugh not absolutely necessa ry, to d raw

some light lead pencil lines £ in. from each

end of the grou nd- glas s screen (if it is aquarter-plate ) to act as gui de lines, so that

the pictu re can be reduced to the correc t

size, and y ou can then be certain that al l

details whi ch appear within the lines will



The "B.O.P." Photographer. 57

appear in exa ctl y the same posit ions on the

lantern slide.

A s the fronts of the two came ras are

fastene d togethe r, the backs of the c amera s

will have to do the m o v i n g during the

focussing operations. Cons eque ntly the

camera scre ws must not be scre wed up tigh t

till the proper posit ions of the ca meras have

been ascerta ined by foc uss ing. It w i l l be

necessary to focus with both cameras to

ge t a picture of a given s ize , and the

relative position s of the came ras in ever y

case can on l y be ascertained by exper iment .

If yo u were reduci ng a full half-plate to

the size of a lantern slide, the position of

the cameras w o u l d not be relati vely the

same as if it were a quar ter -plate you were

reducing. Wh en the negati ve has been

focussed and redu ced to your satisfac tion,

th e shutter on the lens sho uld be set to ex

clude the ligh t, and the dark sl ide contain

ing th e lantern plate shoul d be inse rted in

the camera in the usual wa y, and the ex

posure will be mad e by using the shut ter

in the same wa y as if you were taking an

ordinary photo.

The advantage of this apparatus lies in

its extreme simpl icity, and the fact that no

artificial light is requ ire d. Th e appar a tus

could be used in the dr aw ing -ro om if neces

sary, witho ut fear o f damag e, a lthough

it w oul d proba bly not be advisab le fo r our

readers to try the expe rim ent witho ut first

obtaining the permissi on of the pow ers

that be .

It m ay be as wel l to mention in c los ing,

that an enlarged negativ e cannot be ob

tained by a sin gle pro ce ss . Th e first en

largement will result in a " tra nspa ren cy "

of th e nature of a lantern slide, although

no t necessarily that s ize . T o obtain th e

enlarged negative, th i s " t r a n s p a r e n c y "

must be put in the neg ati ve hol der and en

larged, and this wi l l g ive the negative

desired, the result of a double enlargement.

# * #

OUR NOTE BOOK.

Ar e these letters formed of straight lines ?

{Lift the page to an angle with the eye, look

down it, and sec for yourself.)

A L L K N O W N !

" B.O.P." photographers who remember their

earliest efforts with the camera will appreciate thefollowing. A certain man " wanted " by the policein Russia had been photographed in six different positions, and the pictures were duly circulated among thepolice departments. The chief of one of these wroteto headquarters a few days after, saying: "Sir, Ihave duly received the portraits of the six miscreant?whose capture is desirable. I have arrested five otthem, and the sixth is under observation, and will

be secured shortly."

A N A V I A T O R

A T

E I G H T E E N .

IN our last Volume(p. 112) we gave someaccount of the youngest certificated airman

—Naval Cadet R. F.Wheeler, of C'hiswick,

who is aged fifteen.Another youthful avia

tor now prominently

before the public is51. Marcel Desoutter.whose age is eighteen.

A skilful and daring

tlyer this youngFreneh-man recently made asplendid attitude flightof 5,200 feet at theHen don Aerodrome,where hehas figured inseveral speed races.When asked to tellrenders of the "B.O.P."how he first took upaviation, M. Desoutteranswered as follows :—

** 1 was possessedwith the idea of Hyingabout three years ago,in fact when dying first

started. I was always very much interested in mechanics, and was always building lots of thmgs,such as motorcycles, motor-bo ats, and aeroplanes (model and full-sizemachines), so I very easily got a position as mechanicat the Bleriot firm. After working there for abouteight months I started to learn to fly. I was veryenthusiastic over my learning, and with such anexcellent instructor as Salmet it only took me afew weeks to master the art and take my ' brevet,' butI had to wait a month as I was not old enough. Yo umust be eighteen before passing the tests. During

my course of instruction and right up to the presenttime, I have never had a smash. I am still moreenthusiastic on flying, if possible, than before, but Idon't think people ought to take up flying unless theylike it for the love of flying itself. I don't think thereis any other sport so nice as flying, and 1 don't thinkit is half as dangerous as the general public think it."

In one of the accompanying pictures M. Desoutter isseen seated in his Bleriot monoplane. Our otherillustration shows a beautifully-made model aeroplaneconstructed by a brother of the airman. M. Desoutter

belongs, indeed, to a " flying " family, for every one

of his four brothers is enthusiastic about the sport,though no one of them has yet attempted to rival hisfeats.

S H I P S T H A T C A N H E A R .

AN apparatus, that when fitted to ships at sea willrecord the proximity of any large object (rocks, icebergs, or other ships), has just been' completed bySir Hiram Maxim. Experiments conducted with batshave proved that these animals possess what may bedescribed as a sixth sense, a sense of vibration whichwarns them of their nearness to trees and buildingswhen their sight is useless. Sir Hira m Maxim, adaptingthis discovery, has constructed a very powerful siren,worked by an electric motor, which instead of givingout a piercing shriek sounds a note so low that itcannot be heard by the human ear.

Rather than a low sound, it is really a series of powerful sound waves or vibrations, and when the sirenis being used nothing can be heard by the passengers onthe ship. But should those vibrations strike an object,

even as far away as five miles, be it ship, iceberg orrocky coast, they arereflected back to theship and caught byanother exceedingly

delicate instrumentfashioned on the principle of the ear-drum.This receiver, beingvibrated by the reflected sound waves, automatically sets anelectric bell ringing,thus warning the officerof the watch that thereis some obstructionahead. Further vibrations will be transmitted from the shipat intervals, the resulting reflects I wavesshowing, b y their growing or diminishingtendency, which way

the object may bet ra veiling. If thesevibrations are sent outin all directions by aship at ten - minuteintervals, says SirHiram Maxim, this newsense, which worksequally well in all

M . Desoutter in his Monoplane.

weathers, at all temperatures, and through thick mists

and fogs, will unfailingly warn the ship of any

approaching danger.

*o>*Joo

S T U C K T O H I S G U N S .

WHEN" " Coley " Patterson was a b oy at Eton hewas popular with all his schoolmates. He studiedwell, and, besides, he was " captain of the boats," andin the cricket eleven. At a certain gathering coarsesongs were started. They were part of the traditions

of the school, and had been sung for year3. But" Coley " was as brave morally as he was physically.

He declared that those songs should not be sung in hispresence. When one was started he left the room -something few boys would have dared to do underthe circumstances. T hen and there, however, thecustom stopped. That brave boy at Eton whocourageously stood up for his principles, even at therisk of being described as " tied to his mother's apron-strings," became a famous missionary in the BouthSeas. As Bishop Coleridge Patterson, he fearlessly

faced the Melanesians with their clubs and arrows, anddaily risked his life for the cause of Christ. Physicalcourage has a moral foundation. Dare to do right,

boys, and nothing of physical danger can daunt you.

o-o'^JO<>

O U R L I B R A R Y T A B L E .

E V E R Y boy in interested in the lifeboat and the work

of life-saving round our coasts. " The Lifeboat andits Story," therefore, is suro to meet with a welcomereception. Its author, Mr. Noel T. Methley, F.R.O.S.,who was a contributor to the " B.O.P.," has providedan exhaustive study of the origin and development of the lifeboat, showing how its earliest form was anadaptation of a very ancient shape of boat to modernneeds. In addition to the record of our own servicethere are several chapters dealing Ultimately with thelife-saving methods, stations and equipments of othercountries. It is a book in which boys will delight andit is a book which it is important that they should read.Th e publishers are Messrs. Sidgwick & Jackson.

I •

M . Desoutter's Model Aeroplane.



58 The "Boy's Obvn Paper.

New

Serial

Story.

B E T W E E N T H E T W O :

A S T O R Y O F G R A M M A R S C H O O L L I F E .

By SERCOMBE GRIFFIN,

Author of " The Mad Yalheht" " A Qoorkha's Kookri," " The Dumb Chief," etc., etc.

CHAP TEE V. E D W A K D I A N S V. N E X T O N I A N S .

| HE Cave Adven

ture was the

topic of conver

sation at the

sc hool for many

days to c o m e ;

p e r a d v e nture

not since the

days of Edw ard

the Sixt h ha d

any event cau

se d so great a stir

in the sc hool ,

and raised so

mu c h discus

sion. On thew hole , however ,

Or e s s i n g to n ' s

part in th» affair

was condemned

b y hi s sc hool

fe l lows, and it

was suggested as

not improbable that " Sand y " (Dr. Sanders

the Head Master) would expel Cressington ;

indeed Mr. Hig gs and one or tw o other

indignant parents wrote the Head Master

to that effect.

T h e Head Master had, of course, to reply

that his jur isdiction did not extend beyond

th e sc hool buil ding s and the pla yin g fields ;

out of s c h o o l hours he took upon himself no

responsibi lity for the doings of his cha rges—

such times and places were for parental

author i ty to deal with. Neverth eless, Dr.

Sanders took an early opp ort uni ty of

speaking wit h Cressington in pr ivate.

" Sand y," as he was kno wn to the

Edwardi ans gener ally, was feared rather

than l o v e d (at any rate during sc hool days) ,

but beneath a stern exter ior lurked a kind

heart , which onl y publ icl y betr ayed itself

when the question of cani ng a bo y arose.

T h e Head Master wou ld never cane a boy if

there was the slightest exten uatin g cir cum

stance, unless it was for something very

mean and despicabl e, and then—well,

" Sa nd y" was six feet in height, and so

broad and well-proportioned that, seeing

him standing by himself, you would have

said he was rather be low , than a b o v e , th e

average height. So, when the Head di d

wield the cane, the culprit did not get

off lightly.

In a private capacity, Dr. Sanders dis

played, more often, glimpses of his kindly

hear t , and it was so in his int erv iew wit h

Cressington.

" Rumour tells me, Cressington, that y o u

are not mak ing the best of you r abilities : for

y o u have energy and ability, without doubt.

It's a sad mistake to waste these gifts on

noth ing better than leading smaller b o y s

int o mischief. Escapades with b o y s of your

o w n age, though they ma y be blameworth y,

are not half so deservi ng of cond emna ti on

as those which lead your juniors into dis

obedience. You have t aken advantage of

your seniority to teach young b o y s t o

deliberately disobey thei r parents ' orders.

N o w , Cressington my boy, yo u have ma ny

very pleasing qualities, qualities that ma y

endear you to your schoolfe l lows, and be a

credit to the sc hool . Try and make friends

of your own age, reliable manly fellows like

Dawson or Armstrong "—t he Head Master

had touched a tender spot in mentioning

th e latter s name , had he only kno wn it—

" it's far better than being a small b o y ' s

hero ; there are dangers in these small boy

friendships that yo u ma y scarcely realise.

Cressington, I have spoken plainly ; I kn ow

y o u have no father. Listen t o my advi ce,an d t ake an active share in the sports of the

sc hool . I shall l o o k out for your name in

the Footb all Fifteen shortly ; or may be the

Cadet Corps would be more to your liking."

But Cressington spurned the proffered

advice—he was too proud to appear on the

football field in the role of n o v i c e ; and as

fo r the C adet Corps , he di dn' t see the j o k e of

being ordered about by other chaps ; besides,

it was all to o muc h fa g; he preferred the

old life as leader of small b o y s , he craved for

their adulation and their unquestioning

obedience. The Cave Adventu re, however ,

had reduced his fo l low ing to zero. His

proud, sociable spiri t chafed at the situation,

and he bro oded over his suppose d wrongstill a fierce rese ntm ent gre w up in his heart .

H e gradually grew reckless and eager to aid

and abet any mov eme nt against law and

order. Most of all did he cherish resentment

against Arm str ong, and his chief ambit ion

was to wean Cyril Falkland from the restrain

ing influence of his r ival.

Cyril, howe ver, was for the present un

approachable. Armstrong, true to his word,

wa s close ly watching the move ments of

Cres sing ton ; and not only so, but t he

former's blunt kindliness was finding a

response in the heart of the volatile, harum-

scarum Cyril.

" C o m e on, you cha ps, " cried the li ght-

hearted you th just ment ione d on a fine

Saturday after noon a fortn ight after the

advent ure in the Devi l's Cave. " Let' s bag

seats in the Grand Stand : it'l l just hol d

four . "

" But there 's five of us ; mus t o ne be

marooned S" cri ed the tragic Peters, as

he surv eyed the pollar d whose to p

afforded a vantage groun d whereon they

might rest and witness the football contest

about to be waged. "The re ' s five of us

fo r four places."

Cyril surve yed his com pani ons with a

questioning air.

Springfield quickly made a suggesti on:

" Let one cha p be the cus hio n."

" Fo r us to sit on ? " qu eri ed Peter s.

" No, Peters, you duffor, for us to sit on,"

—an d Springf ield spre ad wide his arms, in

cluding in his sweep Cyril, Warden and Parry

to the ex clus ion of Peters, who rema rked in

rueful tones that he didn't see why he

should be " the cushion," seeing that Warden

was ' ' tons fatter and heaps more cush ion -ey ''

than he, Peters, who was " very bon e-y ."

T h e s ta tement was palpably true, bu t

Warden good-hum ouredl y remarked that

he personally did not hanker after the post of.

" cushion," he felt he c ould not support it—

or them —wit h sufficient dignity. Whereat

the quarrelsome Springfield stated, with un

necessary emphasis, that "Porker Warden"

alw ays did spoil the fun wit h his disagreeable

ways. To which s ta tement Cyril, Peters,

an d Parry warmly responded, saying that

in their long experience of Warden' s friendship they ha d foun d him beast ly lazy, but

still a decen t eno ugh chap, always up for

a joke , and never disagreeable ; that he was

quit e likel y to agree to be " cus hio n," if

spoken to nicely ; but that if Springfield told

stories, the tr io wo ul d feel called upon to sit

u p o n him—Springfield.

Springfield, as was his wont, got very

red in the face, and very fluent in his

speech.

" If you lazy, mutton-h eaded sweeps

think I am goi ng to jo l ly well let you plant

y o u r clumsy carcases on me, you're jol ly

well mistaken, y ou wooden- faced monkey s,

. y o u hunch- backe d jackasses, yo u long-

nosed c o c k a t o o s , you stiff-necked giraffes,

y o u towey-hai red—" But the descriptive

powers of Springfield received a rude check.

His four companions flung themselves on

him, determ ined to silence the vituperation,

and at the same time to force him to accept

the posit ion of " cushi on."

A n animate cushion, however, with four1

l imbs act ive ly resisting, is not easily ad justed

to the correct position, when that position

is som e tw ent y feet fro m the grou nd, high

up amo ng the branche s of a tree. The four

luxuri ous on es endeavou red to carry out

their scheme. Th ey lifted the protesting

" cushion" by his limbs, and vainly en

deavoured to swing him up into position,

but if they m ana ged to get up sufficient

impetus and three limbs were set free for

his up wa rd flight, sure enough his four th

l imb would be found clinging for dear life

to his " swi nger ." Ne xt they tried to push

him up the t r unk by concerted movement

from be low , but ev ery time they hea ved him

up a foo t , he would let go of the trunk, an d

c o m e crashing dow n on their heads. Spring

field was a most refractory " cushion."

" A ro pe' s the onl y thing, or a clank ing

chain from a dungeon deep," cried Peters

vindictively, as he removed a c lod left in

hi s hair by Springfield during the last

struggle.

" Yo u mutton- headed, l ong-eared, spindle-

legged, big-footed, asinine donkeys," splut

tered the irate Springfield in the temp orar y

lull, " yo u haven't the strength of a peri

winkle, or the gu mpt io n of a mouse, or the



"Bettveen the Tbvo.

' now we ve

muscles of a snail, or the brains of a spa rrow,

or the—"

Th e quartet refused to hear further

instalments in this catalogue of their defici

encies, an d returned to the fray. But do

what they wou ld, the " cushion " refused to

ascend. War den sudd enly ceased his efforts,

and began searching the ground for two

buttons of strategical imp orta nce that had

burst off during the last effort to raise th eprone Springfield.

" I say, you chaps," he said,

warmed up a bit, I vote we get

up into the tree. Has anyo ne

go t a belt to len d me ? . . .

No . . . well, a lon g pie ce of

string will do, long enough to

go round my waist."

Springfield, who was still

quarrelsome, said Warde n

hadn' t got a wai st; but th e

remark was ignored, and Parry

c a me to the rescue. The latter

had been commi ssioned to buy

a ball of string for his mother

on the way home from school

and had do ne so—and for

gotten the fact till that very

moment .

B y this t ime the majori ty

of the tw o teams ha d arrived,

and there was an expectant

fringe of youth ful specta tors

roun d the tou ch line. The

five juniors had scrambled up

into their elevated seats, where

there was fou nd to be amp le

room for all.

" Howl, yo u chap s ! " cried

Peters a few minutes later,

" here com es our gallant Cap

tain, and the scurvy knave who

leads the Next on Fi fteen ."

" S c h o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o l ! "

rose the voices of the five in

the pollard.

Dawson looked up with a

smile of amusement, and spoke

to the foo tbal ler at his side, a

stalwart youth referred to by

Peters as the " scurvy knave."

The Nex ton Captain, for so the sturdy

fair-haired viking deserv edly was, laug hed

gaily, and s ho ok his fist at the pol lar d

quintet.

When tw o large towns are withi n a doz enmiles of each other, there is often a good

deal of rivalry, part icularly in sport s, m ore

particularly in school sports, and mo st

particularly in foot ball matc hes betwe en

the Gram mar Schoo ls of the resp ectiv e

towns.

Our Edward ians were confiden t of victo ry

over the Nexton Grammar School, and hence,

as their game comm ence d, they raised their

voices in t r iumphant chorus :

" S c h o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o l ! "—the vowels in

the war-cry cor resp ond ing to the lu ng

capacity of the warrior emitti ng the c ry.

Bu t their opponen ts were not without

their supporters ; a railway jou rne y of twel ve

miles was not a big deterrent, and im

pecunious enthusiasts had ridden over on

their bicycles, so that altogether there were

no fewer than thirty ardent Nextonians

accompanying the visiting Fifteen, and

presently these visitors raised a cou nter cry

of " Gram-gram -grammar ! Gram-gr am-

gra mma r ! ! Gram -gra m-gr amma r ! ! ! "

The persistent chant of the N extoni ans

appeared to have more staying po wer in i t

than the lung- emptyin g yell of " S c h o o o o o o o -

o o o o o o o o l ! "—much to the disgust of the

quintet.

The first ten minu tes ' play was of a ver y

even nature. Daws on, in his cus tomar y

indifferent way, appe ared to take only acasual interest in the game, but those who

had had experienc e of the Edward ian Captain

foot of the p oll ard itself, whe re a po sse of

Nexton ians had foregathered.

" Here I say, this won' t do, " said Spring

field angr ily . " W 7e mus t clear th em out

s o me h o w. "

" W e must," echoed his comp anio ns.

The Nextonians below suddenly became

aware of the fact that the pol lard was in a

very decidu ous condit i on, i t was shedding i ts

twigs with a speed that was alarming. Thefive y o u n g Edwardi ans perched in the tree

were evi den tly far to o intereste d in the g ame

to have thou ght for anything

else ; ever y time the Nex ton

ians looked up, they saw eager

Edwardi an eyes glued upo n the

field of play. When, however ,

a big black beetle fell with

mathematical precision dow n

A n angry Nextonian had returned a small stick and . . . struck

th e speaker on the side of the head." (See page 60.)

knew there was not much that escaped his

vigilant eyes. D awso n had a cousin at

Cambr idge , and hoped shortly to enter on a

'Varsity career himself; an d amongst other

accom plishm ents necessary for such a step,he had decided that the correct Cambridge

drawl was an essential. Bu t tho ugh s low in

speech, he was qui ck eno ugh in intelle ct, and

fast enoug h on his feet, as the Nex ton ian

team realised before the gam e was

ended.

Presently the Nexto n forwards, headed b y

their Captain, began to display their superi

ori ty. But al though they playe d a splendid

dribbling game , they were outclassed in the

sc r immage , and Sneider at half-back was

able to get the ball passed to his three-

quarters almost before the opp osing half-b ack

knew it was out.

" Oh, we ll play ed, sir ! " sho ute d Cyril

from th e tree trunk. " Now, then, Huniset ,

there's an opening. S c h o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o l ! "

Th e other four join ed in the cho rus, a nd

were quite disappointed that their yell of

encoura gement was simply drow ned in an

overwhelming chant that arose from the very

the neck of a Next onia n wearing a som ewhat

large collar, and when t he occurr ence was

followed b y a five-fold gurgle of suppressed

laughter, the Nextonians' suspicions were

aroused , and they cast mal evo lent look s at

th e five innocents in the tree.

" Try and find another beetle, Parry

dear," said Cyril, sotto voce. " One Nex

tonian has bolt ed to the dressing-ro om.

Fin d six beetles more , and we mig ht

driv e all the no isy b eggars after their

friend."

" I 've broken both blades of my knife

grubbing in this tou chw oo d for more beetles,

b u t ^ o h , l o o k ! Armstrong has the ball.

We l l run, sir ! Pass—pas s 1 G o o d ! He ' s

done i t ! "

" 117*0has—and who 's got it no w ? " wailed



60 The Boy's Oteftt Taper.

Peters. " I can' t se e; Warden' s—er—wai st

coat ' s in the light."

" Bo wn e y ' s got the ball ," yelled Springfield.

" Put it on, yo u old s low-coach . O h !

ber-low ! the nipp er with the squin t has

floored h im. "

Th e you th referred t o (one eyo had a

badly- eentred pupil ) had deftly upset t he

o n c o mi n g B o w n e v , a cumbe rso me son of the

soil whose weight was useful in the scrim

mages but a hindran ce elsewhere. There

n ow fol lowed a bit of loose play around

the half-way line, which presently resolved

itself int o an unintere sting series of scri m

mages—uninteresting, tha t is, to spect ators.

So , to while away the ti me, the pol lard

occupants renewed their fusillade on their

opponents below, no longer concealing their

desire to driv e off the Ne xton ians : i t was

so disconcerting to have your yells drowned

by those of your rivals.

" We're awfully glad to see you chaps, you

k n o w , " said Parry as spokesman, " but you

must get your throats sandpapered. We

chap s are all musical, and we reall y ca n'tstand you r frightful din. Tut- tu t , y o u

mustn ' t l ook cross. We alway s leave seats

in the Pav ' for the use of visi tors ; pl ease go

there. No one sits on the roof of the P av' ,

so your cracked voices won't—o h ! you

beast."

An angry Nextonian had returned a small

stick, and the stick had struck t he speaker

on the side of tho head . A per fec t fusil lade

was returned f rom the tree. The Next oni ans

threatened to c l i mb up and expe l the

Edwardians.

"Naughty, naughty!!

" repr ove d Cyril, vice

Parry, retired hurt . " If y ou get angr y

and say naught y words , we shall ask Spr ing

field to talk to you first and fight yo u after

wards. Springfield always says things tha t

people don 't like. Y ou can stay if yo u like,

but yo u really must chain up you r voices .

Ah , naught}', you would , would you ? " —

and the speaker neatly warded off a s t ick

aimed at his head . " Tha t isn't at all nic e

of yo u. W e really shall have to call on our

friend Springfield."

Peters suggested tha t he cou ld speak

" valiant words tha t wo u l d shrii'el the m up

into a heap ." His com pan ion s were agree

able to Peters speaking, provided tha t th e

promised shrivelling di dn' t mak e to o great a

mess underneath their noses.

" H i ! Below there ! " c o mme n c e d Peters,

standing up f rom amongst his fellows.

" Begone , thrice vil lainous scul lio ns!

Av au nt ! or, by my hali dom, I will call

d o wn witcheries on your devoted heads."

Th e Nexton ians re vive d under Peters'

t reatment , and seemed quite a mus ed.

Indeed, they laughed.

" Th ou may- cst laugh-est, " said Peters in

his mo st tragic mann er, as " Th e Pirate of

the Cro ssb one s" was declared to hav e said

when he ordered the five hundred sailors

of H.M.S. Niobe to walk the plank, " but

know-est th ou not-est—•" Peter s was

getting rather angry, and not a little mixed—

" tha t thou art-est standing on the very-

bri nk of the b ri ny de ep ? "

Th e Nextonians were convulsed with

laughter by this time, and as their laughter

go t louder, Peters' vocab ular y go t mor e mixe d

and tragic, until Springfield angrily grabbed

the speaker's leg, and bro ught him t umbl ing

d o w n amon gst his comr ades , himself ta king

the speaker's place.

But ere Springfield got started, he caught

sight of Daw son darting out f rom the ruck

of players and heading straight for the

opponents ' goal posts. " S c h o o o o o o o o o o o l ! "

chorused th e tenants of the pollav'.

" Gram- gram -gra mmar ! " rose the stac

cato chorus f rom be low.

" S H U T UP , YOU* NOISY H Y E N A S — n o one'll

stop Dawson n o w — G E T YOUR THROATS

S A N D P A P E R E D , YOTJ T I N - L I N E D HOOTERS—•

ah, Squin t-eye is o n h im — T I N - L I N E D

HOOTERS G O T R U S T Y —he ' s passed to Hal-

stead—GO T R U S T Y , A N D o u o n r TO BE IN A

PAWN-SHOT —H als teadhas passed to Huniset

— O N L Y THEY' WOULDN'T ALLOW T W O P E N C E

FO R T H E LO T—Huniset ' s over the line—

Y A H BOO, Y'OU SHRIEKING COCKATOOS

and it's a try t o us, you chaps. S c h o o o o o l ! "

This dual declamation of Springfield—

partly for the benefit of those be low, partly

fo r tha t of his companions—needs careful

analysis before its manifold beauties are

perce ived.W h e n it was realised in the tree-top that

Hunise t had scored, the occu pan ts thereof

went wild with excitement and showered

facetious remarks upon tho Nextonians

below. The latter were rather silent, o,nd

mutually agreed tha t it was cold standing

about, and a little exercise would therefore

benefit the m. So th ey strolled off, while

f rom the polla rd rose glad songs of trium ph,

no t unm ixe d with personal remarks regarding

tho retiring Next onia ns.

W h e n Daw son conv ert ed the try into a

goal, then indeed their jo y was exuberant.

Al mo s t dan ger ous ; for Springfield, -wild with

excitement, c o m m e n c e d punching hi a pro

miscuous way his com pan ion 's noses, and

they, in their turn, nearl y hustled hi m off

his perch. Springfield was indignant, and

wanted to fight each of his companions in

turn. Pea ce had Scarcely been rest ored,

when the half-time whistle b lew.

Th e Five swarmed d o w n the pollard's

t runk, and hastened to offer congratulations

t o Hunise t, w ho was fou nd su cking a lemo n

amids t an admirin g circle of schoolfel lows.

In response to the numerou s remarks, H uniset

ejaculated : " Merci, my friends ," " Thanks,

mes amis." He prided himself, did Huniset,

on his knowled ge of Fr enc h; he had

visited France—Cherbo urg — by day-trip

f r o m Bournemouth.

Al l t oo soon the referee's whistle sounded,

and the five junior s trailed back to their

pollard—to find it already occup ied b y five

of th o o b n o x i o u s Nextonians w h o m they

had c rowed o v e r not fifteen minutes before.

Positions were reversed.

" Rather cold up in the tree, wasn't it ? "

remarked Cyril in a loud voice . " I vo te

we don' t go up to tha t windy hole again."

" No , I shou ldn 't if I were yo u, " cam e a

derisive vo ice f rom the snug gery in the

pollard.

" Tho se great, blac k, long- horne d beetles

d o sting so."

" They haven' t s tung yet ."" Besides, that ant ' s nest wasn't nice to

sit upon," said Cyril as a final thrust at the

u n we l c o me intruders.

" Yo u must ha ve squashe d them all," was

the response f rom the tree.

" Oh, you tree-snatching rotters ! " cr ied

Springfield, unable to control his feelings of

mortification any lo ng er : his temper h ad

risen to boil ing poi nt duri ng the ver bal du el

between Cyril and the Next onia n in the

pollard. " Yo u monke y-cl imbi ng sneakers.

Y o u — "

But Cyril and Parry subdued the i rate

Springfield : it is not wiso to show yo u hav e

suffered disc omfi ture . It is best to suffer

defeat philosophicall y.

" Ye s, I agree with you, Falkland," said

War de n, shive ring in a realistic manner.

" It's beastly cold, so I vote we get a nice

warm seat in the P av '. "

" Out of this biting east wind," supple

mented Parry .

" Which chills you to the very marrow

b o n e , " said Peters, handing in his contri

bution.

" And might give you your death of cold,

besides rheumatism and glanders," added

Cyril as his share, though he wished he was a

little mor e posi tive abou t tho latter disease ;

he thou ght it ha d somethi ng to do with severe

sore throat .Springfield, thou gh temporar ily hushed,

wa s no t to be den ied his share. " I jolly-

well think we had better go—out of the

sound of those noisy, hooting, hyenic, tin-

lined, rusty -voic ed, crack-n oted howlers wh o

thi nk th ey can cheer , when all the time th e

ro w they make is enough to give a braying

d o n k e y concu ssion of the brain."

It was a "grande finale," but unfortun

ately the Nextonians misunderstood Spring

field.

" He' s got concu ssion of the brain ,"

shrieked five Nextonian voices at once.

Th e purple, spluttering Springfield was

dragged away before ho cou ld make further

incriminating remarks ; and presently, Peaoe

having spread her wings over their lacerated

feelings, the five Edwar dians strolled in a

lord ly way towar ds the Pavil ion, where sat

Dr . Sanders, a couple of masters, several

parents, and a fair sprinkling of Nextonians.

" Rather a cheap lot in the Pav', don't you

thi nk ? " qu erie d Cyril, as they neared th e

erection in question.

" Ye s, we won 't go ," chorused his fou r

c o mr a d e s , wh o became suddenly aware of the

unpleasant fact that , on match days, the

Pavi l ion was reserved for players and visitors.

Fortunately for their ruffled feelings, the

Five 's attention was attracted once more to

the progress of the game.

Th e Nextonian forwards, led by the fair-

haired viking, were carrying all before them.

No one seemed able to permanently stay

their progress towards the Edwardians' goal .

Da ws o n once or twice forgot to drawl , and

shoute d with vehemenc e : " Buck up ! S to p

the m ! ! " Bu t tho Next oni ans were not t o

be thwarted. Soon they carried the ball

in triumph over the line, where their captain

fell on it and secured a try which was easily

conver ted int o a goal by the sam e stalwart.

Nextonian.

So far the teams were level, a goal apiece.

As they lined out again, Dawson was heard

to address the rival capt ain : " Jol ly decentbit of play by your forwards, but we'll

beat you yet ." And with such a consum ma

tion in view, Daws on sent round orders to

the Edwa rdi an for wards to " dro p on th e

bal l ," s top their opponents ' dribbling tactics,

and at the same time to " heel out."



"Between the Ttvo. 61

" It 's going to b e a touglush j ob for our

men," quoth Warden, to who m the ul t imate

result wa s never in quest ion—ho was an

optimistic Edwardian.

" Old D.iwso n has been holdi ng them in,"

sagely remarked P a r r y ; " yo u wait t i l l he

opens the thrott le, and lets the t eam go

right ahead—"

• ' — T o death or vict ory, " added Peters

grandiloquently." Hullo ! our men arc waki ng up.

Sehoooool! " cried Cyril , and in his exci te

ment he danc ed a hornpipe on the neighbour

ing spectator 's toe.

" T h a n k s , but that 's m y proper t y you ' r e

treading into the ground," said a quickly-

recognised voice—Cressington's.

Th e five juniors, surging backwards and

forwards along the ropes , following the

fortunes of the game , had drifted hither

and thither amongs t the spectators. Cyril

was inva riab ly o n the crest of the w av e of rive,

and hence had come right up against Cress

ington, entirely obliv ious to his presence.

Indeed it was not o ften that Cressington took an y interest in th e school spor ts .

" Sorry, didn ' t kno w it was you," said

Cyril , apologetic. His four companions

IIELIZARDO, chief of Padrone leaders, the

' most romantic figure of modern days ,

lives in the Island of Luz on, but some thir ty

miles from Manila , the capit al of the Philip

pine group. A t least , I hope he still lives

there, though it is three years now since I

had definite news of hi m, and seven years

since I s tood, revolver in hand, wait ing for

Fehzardo's band to try to rescue four

ladrones whom the Americans were abou t

to hang in the plaza at Oalocan, four m iles

from Manila.

Properly speaking, a l adrone is a thief—

nothing more or less. An d these four—I

saw them hanged pro perly in the e nd—we re

both thieves and murderers. (One had

fourteen murders to his accoun t . ) Men

called old Felizardo a ladrone, because there

was no other suitable Spanish word. Y e t

he was neither a thief, nor a murderer ; h e

was simply a great native leader and, what

was more importa nt st i l l, a great native

gentleman.

Whilst we were waiting for the hangman

to carry out his hideous task, fingering our

revolvers nervously, wishing we were not

there at all, hating our j o b , and watching

the natives with bolos (the bolo is a terrible,

two-foot long knife) who wante d to rescu e th e

condemned men, Felizardo's men appeare I

at the edge of the bush. Ther e were hu ndr eds

of them, the most terrible fighters in the

whole Philippine Archipelago. B ut their

leader had given the word that those four

thieves and murderers were to be hanged

by the white man, because they had brough t

sham e on the na me of the nat ive .

They icere hanged, and as I turned away ,

sick at the gruesom e sight, I caught a gl impse

of a white horse with a lUtle old man on it s

back. I t was the terrible Fekza rdo himself.

I oan still see it all to-day, st i l l remember

had mel ted away somewhere farther d o w n

the ropes : Cressington was taboo.

" Well , Cyril , old chap," said Cressington

genially. " I have n't seen muc h of you

l a te ly."

" No ," responded Cyr i l br ief ly—a non

c o m m i t t a l " n o . "

" Al l l i gh t ! I twig, Cyril , old chap. I

k n o w I 'm barred because I gave the ki ds a

l i t t l e adventure all on their o w n — m a m m a sand papas are so par t icular nowadays , but

I did think y o u — "

" Oh, I say, there's a chance ! "—Cy ri l ' s

at tention had rever ted to tho game in

progress. " Huniset , y o u slacker, buck

u p ! "

An d at the same moment Warden cal led to

Cyri l : " C o m e on, Falkland. Hero 's a

r ipping place."

" 'Souse me," said Cyril hurriedly, and left

Cressington, wh o wore the scowl of a defeated

leader. The juniors no longer ca me t o heel

as they used to d o ; they had del iberate ly

snubbed him, al l exce pt you ng Falkland.

T he scowl disappeared, and a l i t t le twinkleof t r iumph might have been seen in Crossing-

ton 's eye : he woul d get young Cyr i l back

under hi s thumb yet .

the thrill which ran through the small grou p

of white men presen t. He had us at his mer cy,

completely—and the American Government

had treated him shamefully. A word f rom

him, and his bolomen would have turned

that plaza into a shambles . Not one of us

would hav e escaped . Bu t the men we were

hanging deserved their fate, and the little

ol d man on the white horse had c o me to

make sure that they we re not rescued at the

last moment by their fel low-criminals.

T he Boudj on , the alarm horn of the

Filipinos, brayed out, as though in farewell—

a farewell mingled with defiance—and then,

in a flash, Felizard o and his men ha d gon e

as suddenly as the y had appe ared.

It must be thirty-five years now since

Felizardo first organised his band. They

say that a priest tried to seize the girl who

was betrothed to hi m, that he clove that

priest in two with his bolo , and, carrying

the girl with him, fled to the great range of

mountains w hich over looks Mani la Bay .

At any rate, for over twe nty years Felizard o

ruled those mountains, and ruled them

splendidly. H o was a nat ive, an out law,

but he was always a gentle man. If he rob bed

the rich robber, he gave freely to th e p o o r .

The ordinary ladrone felt the weight of his

hand—a heavy hand—so did the Pulajan,

the fanatical Man-in- Red,* so did the Head -

Hunter f rom the Nor t h .

The Spaniards, the former rulers of thePhilippine Islands, respected h im. T h e y ,

never interfered wi th him. H e ruled the

mountains , and, so l ong as he sent them

down tobacco and hemp, the Spaniards

were well satisfied wit h the arrangement .

* So called because of a large red cross worn as a

badge.

The Spanish Gov ernor was a gentleman and

Felizardo was a gent le man; therefore they

unders tood one another per fect ly.

But when the Amer i cans t o o k over the

Philippine Islands, things were different.

The new-comers did not unders tand. They

looked on old Felizardo as a brigand, and he,

in turn, despised them.

T o begin wi th, they dispatched twent y

men against him. These Feliza rdo disarmed

and sent back . The n fifty men were sent,and were treated in the same manner .

" I a m not a l adrone. I a m the chief of

these mountains . Lea ve m e alone, and I

will l eave you alone "—that was the little

ol d man's message to the Amer i cano .

Bu t when the Ame rica ns sent two hu ndred

soldiers, hi s bolo men j umped on them out

of the jungle and cut them t o pieces .

Fel izardo was growing angry.

The Amer icans grew angry too . F i ve

million dollars (one mill io n pou nds ) the y

spent in t rying to break the p o w e r of the

Chief of the Mountains ; and every expedi

t ion ended the same wa y—i n disaster.

Then they decided to make a supreme

effort t o finish it all . Th e Spaniard s were

laughing at t hem, so were the Brit ish andthe Chinese.

Three thousand t roops—fif teen hu ndred

white, f if teen hund red nativ e—we re told off

to capture Fel iza rdo ; whi l st mon ey wa s

poured ou t l ike water in the a t t empt to

make his men bet ray him.

T w o of his m en did turn traitors. T he

three thousand t roops closed in. Fel izardo

was in a certain patc h of jung le ; hi s followers

had left him ; his only companions were

those two traitors, who passed out the word

t o the Amer i can commander .

Closer and closer the Americans drew.

They were practically hand t o hand, a

human ring, when there was a clattering of

hoofs, a breaking of undergrowth. A white

horse dashed through the line, and on that

horse , revolver in hand, was Fel izardo.

He kil led three men, and escaped un

harmed.

A n d when the American soldiers closed

in, they fou nd the two traitors, hanging

from a t ree. T he terrible little old man

lvad don e i t s ingle-handed. Below the bodies,

torn up, were the ban knot es which had been

the price of their t reason.

After that, the Americans sent no more

expedi t ions ; but t hey pu t a pr ice of five

thousand dol lars on Fel izardo 's head.

Every decent American was furious, of

course, because decent men d o not pay for

murders ; but the advertisements offering

the reward cont inued.

An d then, one day, we had a bi g thrill in

Manila. T w o natives came in with a basket ,

and in that basket was a ghastly head.

" I t is the head of Feli zard o," they said.

An hour later, they went out, very happy.

They had five thousand dol lars in gold.

The American Vice-Governor was happy

t o o . H e r eckoned he had scored , and

would be called a great man.

Three days later, there was a big blaze

in one of t he suburbs of the ci ty. Old

Felizardo, richer b y five thousand dol lars ,

had come d o w n t o p r o v e that he and hi s

white horse were still alive.

Real ly, I hop e he is al ive now , eve n th oug h

he is a br igand. I have a huge respect for

him. He seems t o belong t o the days when

I was a bo y. Fo r all these stories are true ;

yet , when I think o f them , I seem to go back

twenty-f ive years t o the days when I read of

such things in the " B.O.P . " P e rhaps I may-

have another oppor t uni ty of tel l ing some

further stories of the great Ph ilipp ine leader.

*

(To be continued.)

it THE CHIEF OF THE MOUNTAINS."

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

By STANLEY PORTAL HYATT.



62 The "Boy's Ot&m Paper.

HOW TO

A T THE ASSO-A S E R I E S O F E I G H T

A R T I C L E S

By JACK SHARP (the Ever-

CHAPTEE IV . FORWARD PLAY.

As a matter of fact, e ven in the few ye ars

that I have been interested in foot

ball , there have been many changes in the

met hod s of forwar d play, and I exp ect

before man y of my readers have finished

their careers as players they will witness

ma ny more. But al l tho chan ges which

have been made have tended to a steady

impr ove men t of the forwa rd l ine, and in

place of the older meth ods of rushing we

no w ha ve finished ex hib itio ns of cle ver

passing and finesse. Pers ona lly , I am of tho

opin ion that footb all has no w go t to a pitc h

of excelle nce whi ch is ver y near perfect ion,

but pro bab ly in the old days the playe rs

thought the same.

I believe tha t ma ny years ago a te am

consisted of abo ut eight forwards an d three

men to defen d. Of course , such an arrange

me nt wo ul d be a terri ble failure no w, bu t in

those days, it mus t be rem emb ered , there

was practic ally no passing, and whe n a

forward got possession of the ball he did his

utmo st to score a goa l by bri l l iant individ ual

effort and only parted com pa ny wi th tho

sphere wh en i t was forcibly taken away

from him.

There is not much doubt that the major i ty

of b o y s , i f asked in which posit ion of the

field they would rather shine, would plump

fo r outside-righ t or left , or centre-for ward.

T h o ins ide posi t ions som eho w don ' t appeal

to tho many young hero-worshippers who

look on at first-class fo ot ba ll , bu t I can

assure you all tha t n o b o d y values a really

good inside man more than I do . Y o u see, he

is necessa ry to success, and wit hou t him it

would be impossibl e for the ce ntre or o utsides

to do anything effective.

N o w , don' t imagine tha t becau se I hav e

played for Englan d I could turn out forwards

b y the dozen ; don ' t think, in fact , tha t a

yo ut h only has to read wha t I say and im

mediate ly be g o o d enough to enter the

ranks of a first-class le ag ue c lub . I am not

taking up on mysel f such a huge task

be cau se , first of all, n o b o d y can ever b e c o me

proficient by learni ng f ro m a b o o k alone,

and second ly, I don ' t suppose one- twent ie th

part of my readers are out out for forwards.

I can only give g o o d advice which, if

fo l lowed by those who are natural forwards ,

will have the effect of turning the ordinary

player into one of a higher s tandard.

First of all, taking the outside posit ions,

y o u will be of no use whate ver unless y ou

have an extra turn of speed. Neatne ss in

taking a pass is, of course— with abil i ty to

dri bb le or trav el with the ball at yo ur toes—•

essential , but with out speed yo u will be of no

use . It is. in this posi t ion that the player

has the best chanc es of maki ng a run d ow n

the field. N o w, whe n the bai l comes

IMPROVE

CIATION GAME.S P E C I A L L Y W R I T T E N F O R

T H E " B . O . P . "

ton and International Player).

across to yo u a few yards ahead, mak e a dash

and fasten yo urse lf on to it and m ak e as

much grou nd as yo u possi bly can before

an opp one nt tackles you , but whilst doing

this yo u mus t kee p a perfect look- out for

y o u r nearest colleague so that , should the

occasion arise, a gentle tap with the foot

will give him the ball and yo u can in dulge

i n a combi ned movement .

A b o v e all things, keep near the touch

line fairly well up, bu t do n't o ver do i t an d

get " offside " or all yo ur efforts will be

wasted. Also, r emember tha t when you

and your nearest fel low- player are in

jeopardy of losing the ball it is a decided

adva ntag e to send i t r ight across to the

oppos i te wing, whic h will be, for the t ime

being, p robab l y unmarked .

In all your passes remember to send the

ball as close to th e g rou nd as possible , un

less, of course, there is a more than ordinary

chanc e of i ts bein g intercep ted. Re me mb er

that although, as an outside wing player, you

are expe cted to make individual runs, y o u

must on no acco unt a t t empt to monopol i se

the pla y unless you hav e a clear chan ce of

doing so successfully. I am taking it that

y o u have thorough c om ma nd over the bal l

and can pass well.

So ma ny outsides co mm it the fault of

taking the ball to o far dow n the grou nd

before t hey think of cent rein g. I t has

alway s been my firm opinio n tha t the ball

shou ld be centre d just befo re the last back .

If yo u try to get round him , and even

succeed, an inval uable minute or tw o may

have been lost , and by tha t t ime the rest of

the defence has had an opp ort uni ty t o

get right ba ck . This is a po int wh ich is

very impor tan t to remembe r .

No w, I wonde r ho w man y of you you ng

players will ende avo ur to follow my a dvice ?

Perhaps it won't quite fit in with your

own ideas of the gam e, but never mind , just

r emember tha t I have had a little more

exper ience than yo u have, and that m y

words are only the out co me of some very

serious tho ught . Giv e my advi ce an

ex t ended trial and keep on pegging away

until yo u are perfect .

We will no w deal with the que stio n of the

t wo inside forwards. Altho ugh, of course,

pace is ahvays a valuable asset on the foot

ball field, the two inside men need not

necessari ly be so fast as the two ext rem e

outsi des. Th ey are, as it were, the c o n

nect ing links in the chain of the forw ard

line, an d their chief duties are to pass and

to sho ot. It shou ld be, therefore, the on e

great aim in the yo ung ster wh o wants to fit

himself fo r an insid e po sit ion in a first-class

tea m to cultiv ate to the utm ost of his ability

the difficult art of passing, and at the same

t ime to remember tha t individual bri l l iance,

eve n when right in front of goa l, mus t be

sacrificed in favour of a quick pass to a

colleague when the latter is in a better

posit ion to make the shot.

Ho we v e r , the passin g alone is no t ever y

thing, for, having transferred the ball to

anot her play er, it is the duty of the i nside

man to get into a g o o d posit ion to receive

a pass. This is of invalua ble help to his

fellow forwards. Do yo u quite understand

wh at I mea n ? Do n' t get rid of the ball to a

ma n wh o, for the mome nt, has a clear

passage for his shot, and then blame him if he

doe sn't score. One of the defence might

sud den ly spoil his cha nce ; therefore, direc tly

y o u have given him the ball, no matter if

he has a clear passage or not, run for war d

into anot her posit ion in order to take the

ball again should it become necessary.

If y o u follow this advice yo u will be

surprised ho w simp le it is, and I a m sure

y o u will agree that the value of such a

practice cann ot be over-estimated. The n

there is another point to remember. Nev er

jum p about with the ball and so end eav our

to get rounil an opponent. Y o u will be

wasting t ime, giv ing tho defence an opp or

tuni ty t o c o me to the rescue, and will surely

lose tho ball in the end.

I have dwelt upon the value of passing

quit e long enou gh, and so will pass on to a

fe w wor ds on anot her essential to successful

inside forwar d play. I refer to shooting ,

an d before sayin g anyth ing else I would

advise frequent shooting practice at any od d

time. It wil l help to mak e yo u acc urate

if not hin g else. I have sto od in all sorts of

places watching boys at the gam e and hav e

invar iably found that , in the first place,

they d on' t quite kno w ho w to shoot. ' Let

me say straight off, alt hou gh I ex pe ct a large

num ber of yo u already k no w it , that th e

shot should ahvays be ma de with the instep

and never on any occasion with the toe.

Then, when to shoot. Lo ng shot s should

not be tried on dry grounds as the ball will

be quite easy for the goalkeepe r to negotiate,

but on wet groun ds tho ball is bou nd to get

into a more or less greasy state and it is

fairly safe to have a try at any reasonable



NEW ZEALAND MOU NTE D INF ANTRY.

, T r o o p e r .

NADIAN DRAGOONS.

• SOU TH AUSTRA LIAN LANCERS. SOWAR : 32nd LANCERS

ROYAL CANADI AN HUSSARS. TRI NI DAD LIGHT HORSE.

_^my$&ft \\f//// •

IPIRE'S D E F E N D E R S . Q 4 BOU VER IE STREET, LONDON E C

NATAL CARBINI ERS. CAPE TOW N HIGHLAN DERS.T r o o p e r . P r i v a t e .

. INFANTRY. 2nd CANADIAN MIL ITI A. SIERRA LEONE ROYAL ARTILL ERY.c e r . P r i v a t e . G u n n e r .

ROYAL MALTA ARTILLERY. 1 5 t h LUDHIANA SI KH S- SOWAR: 1st CAVALRY. NORT H NIGERI AN REGT.O f f i c e r . ( S k i n n e r ' s H o r s e . ) P r i v a t e .

SEPOY : 2nd GURKHAS.



HoUf to Improve at the Association Game. 03

distance. When ever the chance comes to

you on a wet ground and you see a clear

passa ge, let go for all yo u are wor th ; bu t

on dry grounds, and, in fact, at all times

when the ball is not actual ly ve ry s lippery ,

watch your chance and be careful that y o u

are in the best position to shoot.

I have frequently seen matche s in which

the forward play, althou gh cle ver, has not

been of that style which is valuable to a side

wanting to win. It is not at all un co mm on

to see players indulge in tri ck y passes to s uch

an extent that after the ball has been in

their possession for quite a lo ng period ver y

little headwa y has been made, and I wa nt

yo u to resist tho temptation to act in this

OUR Empire' s Defenders are more num erou s

than most of us imagine, and the Mother

Country has onl y an opp ortu nit y of guessing

at their numbers and variety when jubilees

and coronations c r o wd Lon don wi th Colonials.

The Indian army musters a quarter of a

million men ; Canad a has an ac tiv e milit ia

of over 00,000 and a reserve of ove r a million ;

Australia has just begun compulsory military

training which has alrea dy yield ed an ar my

of about 80,000; Ne w Zealand has also

compulsory militar y servic e, and in eve ry

colony and depend ency i t has been tho ught

j necessary to have a force of som e sort, w hose

I numbers appear to be kno wn only local ly ,

; but are much larger than would be supposed,1

and in a fe w year s will be large r still.

Th e subjec t is an imp ort ant and interesting

one, not only to India n and Colonia l readers,

but to all those in this country, and we feel

sure our colou red plate, specially dra wn for

the " B.O.P.," will be warmly welcomed . T o

have given a picture of ever y regime nt, as

we have sometimes been asked to do ,, is

evide ntly impos sible , but here we hav e a

good representative group —those of the

Indian army being conspicuo us by their

handsome uniforms.

Dealin g with these first, we hav e a s on ar,

that is, a troope r, of the Queen 's Own Cor ps

of Cuides (Lumsd en' s) in drab wit h scarlet

cloth facings, a mos t distingui shed regime nt

of both cavalry and infantry whose colour s

bear the cypher of Queen Victoria within

the Garter, and no fewer than ten honours—

" Punjab : Mooltan ; Goo je rat ; De lh i: Ali

Masjid ; Kabul, 1879; Afghanistan, 1878-

80 ; Chitral ; Punj ab Front ier ; Malak and "—that are eloquent of its history. Close

to him, also with white and blue turban,

is a sowar of the o ld 2nd Madra s Lanc ers,

now the 27th Light Caval ry, in Fren ch gre y

with buff facings, a corps with a long recor d,

the most prominent features of which, as

shown on its roll of ho no ur, were the " Car n-

atic, Sholinghur, Mysore , Sering apata m, and

Burma 1885-87 "—the Carnatic datin g as

far back a« ,747, that is before Lord Olive

obtained his first commission. A lso on the

plate, in the right-hand corner, is a sowar of

the old 2nd Bo mb ay Lance rs, now the 32n d

Lancers, in blue with white facings.

Below the Madras ma n is a sepo y, or, as

it is now ( ' . j fashion to spell it, a sipahi, that

is, one of tl»_ ank and file of a nativ e regim ent

in British pay, the regiment in this case being

the 129th Duke of Conn augh t's O wn Balu chis,

formerly the 29th Bombay Infantry, the

uniform being green with red trousers and

scarlet facings. Th e " Persia ; Res hir e ;

Bushi re; a r v> os h- ab ; Kandah ar, 1880 ;

. z-bot

ill-back

man ner . It is in the fron t rank that quick

rushes are of no small va lue ; there are so

many who rather ove rdo trickiness, and,

somehow, do not seize the chan ce of rush

ing dow n the g rou nd when it is offered them.

Afghanis tan, 187 8-8 0; Egyp t , 1882 ; Tel -

el- Kebi r," on its colo urs tell the ta le of its

lengthy service and re cord that it was one of

the regiments despatc hed from India to

Egypt to help Lord Wolse ley in the war

with Arabi.

Seate d at the Baluch i's feet is a havil dar.

that is, a sergeant, of the 3 8th Do gra s, the

ol d 38th Bengal Infantry, in scarlet with

y e l l o w facings. A l s o in scarlet, but with green

facings, is one of the 15th Ludh ian a Sikhs.

Yea rs ago these were the 15th Beng al

Infantry, and, as shown by the honour s

on the ir colo urs— " China, 1860-62 : Ahm ad

K h e l ; Kandahar , 188 0; Afghanis tan.

1878-80 ; Suakin, 1885 ; Tofre k ; Chitral ;

Punja b Frontier ; Tirah "—th ey saw service

under Sir Hope Grant at the capture of

Pekin.

Kneel ing in fron t o f hi m is a sepoy" of the

2nd King Edward' s Own Gurkha Rifles

(the Sirmoor Rifles) in dark green with

scarlet facings and the cheq uer ca p-ban d

sugges tive of a Scott ish origin. Thi s famous

hard-fighting regiment has the plume of the

Prince of Wale s and the Ro ya l and Imperia l

cypher on i ts colours, the honou rs being

" Bhurtpore ; A l i w a l ; Sobraon ; Del hi ;

Kab ul, 1879 ; Kan dah ar, 1880 ; Afgha nista n.

1 8 7 8 - 8 0 ; P unj ab F ron t i e r ; and T i r ah ; "

in all of whi ch it was wel l to th e fore , par

t icularly in Combermere' s terrible storming

of Bhurtpore on January 18, 1826, where no

fewer than 4000 of the e nem y met the ir

death. Ne xt but one to the righ t we hav e

the well-known y e l l o w uni form of the 1st

Duke of Yor k' s Own Lancers (Skinner 's

Horse) , late 1st Bengal Lancers, who werealso at Bhurtp ore , an d who se ho nou r roll also

includes " Candahar, 1842; Afghanis tan,

1870-80 ; and Eekin, 1900 ."

Anot her ol d corps , recognisable at once

by the uniform, is the We st India Regi ment ,

originally the Carolina Blac k Corp s, with

an hon our roll of " Dom inic a ; Martinique,

1809 ; Gua deloupe , 1810 ; Asha ntee ; W est

Africa , 1887,1892-3-4; S ier ra Leone , 1898;"

though it has figured in no fewer than twenty-

four campai gns, beginning with that of

Savannah in 1779. Ano the r is the King 's

Ow n Malta Regime nt of Mili t ia, which be gan

its career in 1800. Th e othe r Maltese regi

men t o n the plate is the Ro ya l Malta Ar tille ry,

which saw service in Egy pt in 188 2, and is

remar kable for four of its com pan ies being

liable fo r du ty on ly in Malta while the regi

ment , as a regim ent, is liable, like all ot her

Ro y a l Artil lery, for service everywhere.

West Africa is represe nted b y the Sierra

Leone Ro ya l Garrison Arti l lery, which

ranges with the local batteries of Hong Kong

and Sing apore, and also by the Northern

Nigeria Regi ment , which consists of a bat tery

of artillery, t wo batt alio ns of infant ry and a

battalion of mou nted infantry. Sout hAi .ic a

has four repres entati ves, the old Cap e

Mounted Rifles, wh ic h use d to hav e field

guns, the Dur ban Lig ht In fan t ry , th e Nata l

Carbiniers and the Cape T o w n Highlanders.

Canada has also i ts Highl and regime nt,

tho ugh it is not sho wn in the plate, the

regiments chosen being the 2nd Canadian

Milit ia, the Ro ya l Canadian Hussarsv

n dthe Roy al Canadian Dragoons.

Our smallest dom ini on is represe nted i. _ a

s mar t troop er of the Ne w Zealan d Mounter

Infantry, but Australia furnishes ha lf i

dozen examp les in khaki, two each fr̂ niVic tor ia , South Australia and New Soutl

Wales , the regiments being the Victoriai

Range rs and the Victor ia Moun ted Infantry

the South Australia Mounted Infantry an ,

the Sout h Australia Lanc ers, bo th of who o

wear the helme t, and the N ew South Wale,,

Lancers and the Ne w South Wale s Moun ted

Rifles. Besides the Wes t India Regilnent,

whose headquarters are in Jam aica , bufcwhich

is as well known in Africa as in the island?

of the Gulf, our ol dest co Whial gr ou p 1

represented by exa mples of two regim e... ̂

from Trinidad, the Light Hor se and the Light

Infantry.

» ¥ *OUR

PRIZE COMPETITION

AWARDS.

[THIRTY- FOURTH A N N U A L SERIES.—1912.]

(Continued from p. 82 3 of last Volume.)

No. 6.—Mixed Team of Crickett as selected

by our readers, to Play thf u orld.

Prize Bat Winner.

D. A. FOSTER, Ivy House, Emsworth, B&ats.For this competit ion 196 of ou» readers entered ,

and the following was the team th-̂ y selected : Faulkner,

174; Hob bs, 163 ; Foster, 161 ; Fry, 155 ; Ramo s.

130 ; Macartn ey, 123 ; Bardsley, 119 ; Warner, 98 ;Rhodes , 92 ; Tru mper, 87 ; Sp ooner, 79.

No one succeeded in getting the whole team correct,but 29 competitors tied with 9 each. A ballot wan

accordingly take n an d D. A. Foster came out t he

winner. We print the names of the 28 others :—A. W.

Pegler, Landore; Herbert Phipps, G-oodmayes:It. Kullmann, Herm an Rivere, S. Blackmor , CM ?.

Pengilley, Russell Hud son and M. Baker, V";

ncht.vtei ;

Sydney Strothard, Har rogate; Herbert lo . lin,,'.

Gainsboro' ; M. E. Wontner, Heathgat e;:

'ric S J

Lane, El tham ; E." W. Foster, Ems worth; M . E-

Foster, Emsworth ; C. 0. Scott, Wvla m-on -Tyn e0. E . Collier, Stafford ; L. G. E. lumber, S o u t h s ^

J. B . Mahony, Norwich ; F. Sheldrick, London ; FT.T

Robertson, London ; R. L . Pyne, De vonp ort: A. W

King, Brighton ; W. Thorn and C. Thorn, Dollis Hill:

T. Bibby, Preston; Alec Hood, Manchester; H .

Domi ng, Cheshire ; T . Raines, Stirling.

[W e have used the ballot to determine the first six

out of this large number, and a consolation prize if a

" Boy's Own " Knife has been sent to each of the si ?

No 7— Pen-and-ink Sketch : " The Cricket

Enthusiast, and the Slacker."

Prise Bat Wimier.

H E N R Y WRIGHT, 8 Acclom Street, Hartlepool.

Consolation Prizes.

" Boy's Own " Knife :

B E R N A R D W . H A N D L E Y , Shaw Hil. , loehd ale;

N. E . ELLIS , 72 Christchurch Road, South nd-on-Sea ;

J. H . FLETCHER, 291 Navarino Mansions, Dalston Lane,

Hackney, N. E.

Hon. Mention.

A. S. H . DICKINSON, 42 Crystal Palace Park Road;

Sydenham, S.E.

No. 8.—Best Cricket Story.

Prize Pat Winner.

H. LEON ARD COURT, 71 Avondale Road. Denmark

Park, S.E .Consolation Prize.

CHARLES EDWARD QUINN, 144 Railto i oad, Hem e

Hill, S.E.

Hon. Mention.

GEORGE ALLARD, Moresh Villa, Crov-i Hill, Tippet

Norwood; H A R O L D DORNING, " Kinlo a," 25 vV'est-

gate, Hale, Cheshire.

S

* * *TYPES O P OUR EMPIRE'S DEFENDERS.

(See Coloured Plate with Monthly Part.)



64 The "Boy's Otvn Paper.

ORBCSPODBCDCC

K. B.—We arc glad to hear that your Sectional Canoe,

built from directions given in the *' B.O.P.," has

turned out " a great success." So many readers

from all over the world have written us to a similar

effect.

B. L.—The " B.O.P." Annual is published at 8s. inhandsome cloth, and at 9s. 6d. with gilt edges.

M. M. W. (Staffs).—Write to Marconi House, Strand,

London, W.O., for particulars. Yo u would have to

lmdergo a course of training before being appointed

to a vessel as an operator.

E. W . (Dunedin, N . Z.).—As readers of the " B.O.P."

may like to see a picture of your sectional canoe

covered with canvas, we will reproduce the photo

graph in an early issue. We are glad that you found

the directions so useful.

C. A . HARRIS.—Here are the titles of the colouredplates to which you refer, with the dates when they

appeared:—" Our Main Line Express Engines,"December part, 1899 ; " Our Lightning Expresses,"

December, 1910 ; " Express Engines of the World,"

December, 1908; " Royal Sovereign," December,

1903. The publishers will send any part that you

may require if it is still in print. " Every Boy's

Book erf Railways" (published by the Religious

Tract Society) has many plates of engines.

O. E . S. (Lower Edmonton).—We cannot accede to

your request, though we sympathise with you in yourloss. Cannot you find some other hob by of interest,

which would no t entail much expense ?

THOMAS LlGHTFOOT.—Your letter is very cheering.

Tell us how you like the new volume just com

mencing, with its serials and other features. W e are

always glad to have the criticism of readers.

PHILATELIST.—Do not be persuaded against your will.

There is a great deal of sense in what a prominent

collector says: " My advice to young collectors is.

regard all real stamps as worth attention, cut your

self off from none, thus leaving yourself free to obtain

and study all as opportunity admits, and think

and speak of none as rubbish because they are cheap

and plentiful. Th e specialist's stamps are few in

.number and here to-d ay and gone to-morrow. Th e

general collector's stamps become part and parcel of himself and he cannot imagine himself without them.

He looks on them with pleasure, not for what they

will bring, but for what they are, and perhaps stillmore for what they have been to him.''

H. M. C. (Winnipeg).—Thank you for sending the

postcard showing the first engine that ran west of the

Red River. W e would rather see photographs of

your own taking, however. Wh y not take asnapshot of the ruins of " Old Fort Garry," forinstance ? A view of Main Street in the winter

months would be a striking picture.

SMALL and POOXA.—There is no special exercise to berecommended, but breathing and leg and arm drill

all tend to development.

W. D. C . and A. J. M.—It is not a simple matter tobecome an aviator. Complete tuition at a school of

flying would cost anything up to 1*75, How much

money an aviator would make afterwards woulddepend on his skill and reputation . We shall prob

ably be having an article on this subject very soon.

CURIOUS.—The mongoose of India, the plucky little

animal that kills the cobra and other snakes, has notperfect immunity from the venom of the snakes, bu t

its immunity is greater than that of other animals.

It takes a dose of cobra venom twenty times greater

to kill it than to kill a rabbit. It is the quickness

with which the mongoose avoids the snake's blow

and leaps on its enemy that enables it to become

the victor in the fight. It s sharp teeth quickly put

the snake out of action.

A . B. A L L E N (Manchester).—The adhesive postagestamp first made its appearance in Great Britain in

1840. This was followed by a stamp from Brazil in

1843. It was not until 1847 that Am erica issued its

lirst regular postage stamp, although a provisional

issue made its appearance in 1845 . Other countries

soon followed, among them France in 1849, Spain

in 1850, Italy in 1851, and Germany in 1852.

H A R O L D . — Y o u r other questions are answered in this

issue. German ten pfennig, face value only. Your

coins, unless in extra fine condition, are worth littlemore than face value.

J O U R N A L I S M.—Ma n y well-known newspaper men in

London began their careers on provincial papers.

It would be well for you to take the opportunity that

offers and enter the office to gain a few years'experience.

J. B. S.—Three pounds is the average weight of an

ostrich egg, and its contents are equal to those of

about twenty-four hens' eggs.

I N Q U I R E R .—I t was an eminent French writer who once

referred to the lobster as " the Cardinal of the Seas."

You should know what a lobster looks like before it

is boiled.

CHARLES M.—The exercises should be done slowly and

quietly, without imposing any undue strain on the

arms. Breathe naturally and evenly all "the time.

To fling your arms about like a windmill is

misdirected energy.

A. B. T. (Hertford).-—We are considering the question

of another serial by the writer you mention.

DRILL.—For particulars of the Royal North-West

Mounted Police of Canada apply to the Com

missioner, R.N.W.M.P. , Regina, Saskatchewan.

The pay is not very high. The mounted police of

the Australian states receive a higher rate of pay.

NEW READER.—The " assembling " method of catehing

moths was dealt with in an article in the August part.

SPECIAL EXTRA

Christmas number.W i t h th e next ( D E C E M B E R ) Monthly Part of the " B . O . P . "will be issued th e Special C H R I S T M A S N U M B E R , price od.In addition to splendid C O L O U R E D P L A T E S it will offer ahost of attractions, among th e numerous articles and stories

being th e following :—

Th e Proof of the Pudding. A ChristmasPlay. By A R G Y L L S A X B Y , M . A .

Th e N o v i ce of Shaston. B Y W . J .H A W K E S .

Prederoy's Sword. By J O H N L E A .

A N i g h t at an Ol d In n. By H. P.

H O B D E S (Illustrate*!).

H o w to Mak e a T o b o g g a n . By G. P .M O O N (Illustrated).

In th e Abbev Ruins. A Ghost Story.B Y H . A . WOOLLEY.

Old - Time Christmas Customs. B yT. M I C H A E L P O P E .

Seasonable Puz zles and Parlour Trick s.

By M ORL EY ADAM S (Illustrated).

Plot and Counterplot.

M y First

B. O. P . '

Christmas StoryBy ADRIAN L E I G H .

By D . A. POCOCK.

th e

Th e Wizard at the Breakfast Table.

By G E O . F R A X K L A N D .

Cryptography.

(Illustrated).

Th e Hunt i ng of " Sleeping Feet.'Indian Story. By OLAK BAKER.

Santa Claus inN E N D IC K .

Alpine Gold.(IllustralM).

By H . F .

Trouble. By V . R.

By SEROOMBE GitTPFIN-

Il lustrations by P. \X. BURTON, J . JKLLIOOB, E . B L A I K X E Y , & C .

No reader of the "B.O.P." should fall to secure a copy of this special

extra issue-, which is crammed full of seasonable stories, articles, and

Illustrations. -To prevent disappointment It is advisable to

Ready

November 25th. O RDE R E A R L Y . *rice 6d.

REOT

boys own paper 26th october 1912

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