N O. 10, NEW VOLUME.] (VOL. XXXV.) SATURDAY, D E C E M B E R 7 , 1912. Price On e Penny. [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] RCommittee ofInquiry. A Xmas Piece by PAUL BLAKB. Characters : BENSON aged 15.] DOYLE „ 14. KNOTT „ 16. NICHOLLS ,, 14. Scene : A classroom : door at the back: window on the right. The usual furniture. Time : After afternoon school. {EnterBENSON, followedby KNOTT ani NICHOLLS. They steal in cautiously.] B. Here we are ! all serene. K. Yes, but why B. I'll tell you i n a minute. N. But this is old Masefield's private class-room, and if he catches us in here we shall get into trouble and no mistake. B. Ho fear ofthat: I heard him say he wa s going to the station to meet the 5.40, so we've heaps of time. K. No w then, Benson, (ire away. What' s the moaning ofthis mysterious note you sent me to come here after school ? Ifyou're playing any game on us I'll—•—• B. 'Tisn't a game: it's jolly serious. It's about the Doctor's grapes. N. Hang his wretched gra pes ! Here we're going to lose a half-holiday because somebody's helped himself to a bunch or two. K. I don't believe 'twas one of the fellows at all : more likely some tradesman's boy nipped into the greenhouse when he wa s delivering the mutton . N. But the Doctor said that one of the maids saw a b oy climbing back into the playground. B. Exactly, and I believe I know who it was. K, So that's what this precious meeting's about ? B. Ye s: I wa nt your advice : I thought we three might form a sort of Committee ofInquiry. When the Doctor asked the whole school who had taken his grapes no- T H E " ROUSING STICK." (See p. 151:) 'Drawn, fur the "Boy's Own Pa/;er" by J . JELLICOE.)
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K. Didn't you! A nice trick you'veplayed on us, youngster.
D. Yes, Knot t. But you've promised
not to lick me.
K. Yes, and I keep my promises, as
you seem to keep yours. Well, we'd better
clear out of this before we're nabbed, (to B.)
A jolly lot of good your precious committee
has been.
B. That's not my fault. At any rate
we know that if Doyle didn't take them
himself he knows who did.
JV. What's the use of that if he won't
tell us his name ?
B. I vote we go to the Do ctor and tell
him the whole story, and I guess he'll findsome way of making Doyle open his mouth.
K. 'Pon my word, I'm inclined to think
that's the best thing to do. It's too bad
that everybody has to suffer because there's
ene chap in the school who's sneak enough
to get us all into trouble.
D. I never said so.
B. Yes, you did : you said you knew the
chap who took the grapes.
D. I never said it was one of the fellows.
K. What ? Ah !—Jim !—'Twas Jim !
D. Yes, it was.
B. And you said you wouldn't tell !
Why couldn't you have said so at the start ?
D. Because I'd promised I wouldn't.'Twas like this. When I was in the garden
after my ball, I saw Jim come out of the
greenhouse with a bunch of grapes. He saw
me and implored me not to split on him :
said he'd get the sack and perhaps go to
prison, and he'd never do it again and all the
rest of it, so I said I wouldn't give him away
as I didn't want him to be jailed for a few
grapes.
K. I don't know but what I'd have done
the same. But you seem to have broken
your promise after all.
D. No, I haven't. Jim's heard that
the school is to lose a holiday if the thief
isn't found, so he's had grit enough to go tothe Doctor and own up. He's just told me.
K. So that's why you were talking with
him. Has he got the sack ?
D. No : the Doctor 's going to " consider
the case " : that means he'll let him off.
K. Good.
JV. (at window). Cave ! Here's old Mase
field !
B. (pulls him away). Don't let him see
you!
D. (peeps out). All right! he's going to
the house.
K. Thank goodness for that! now
then: after me ! It's about time we
adjourned this Committee ![.They all go out cautiously in Indian file
as the curtain falls.]
A NEGLECTED ENGLISH GAME.
D O Y O U K N O W M E R I L L E S , O R N I N E M E N ' S M O R R I S ?
•
By LESTER SMITH.
it a novelenjoyment.
i O you want anew pastime
for spare evenings ?If you are tired of everlastingly playingdraughts and dominoes, and cannotfind anyone sufficiently interested inchess to play you,try a game at Meril-les. You will find
and a fascinating source of Ordinary draughtsmen may
be used for the men, and the diagramcan be easily marked on the back of thedraughts-board.
Merilles, or Nine Men's Morris as it wasoften called, is an old English sport which
was at one time very popular, although it isnot to be found to-day in any of the standardbooks of games. It dates back at least tothe time of Shakespeare, for it is mentionedin the " Midsummer Night's Dream " whereTitania, the Fairy Queen, is upbraiding herlord for the evils which had come upon theland as the consequence of his jealousy :
" The fold stands empty in the drowned field,
And crows are fatted with the murrion fl ock;
The Nine Men's Morris is fill'd up with mad,
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green
For lack of tread are indistinguishable."
1
Naturally he demurred at doing this on theSabbath, but after some persuasion h e
consented to stay just a moment to decidethe problem. Once inside the house, however,he became so interested in the game that heforgot all abou t church and, it is said, arrivedhome so late for dinner that he received agood rating from his irate wife.
The game is played by two persons, eachof whom has nine pieces. The men are notset in position on the board as in chess ordraughts, but are placed on, one at a time,by the players in turn. The object of eachplayer is to get three of his pieces in a row,and to prevent his antagonist from doingthe same. The three men may be on anypart of the board, but they must be eitherhorizonta l or vertical, for they do not countas a set if they are on either of the fourdiagonal lines.
On at last succeeding in get ting a set thus,a player is at liberty to take any one of his opponent's men off the board excep tone of a completed row. The game pro ceeds in this way until all the men areon the board, after which the players takeit in turn to move. The men may be movedalong the line in any direction (one spaceonly at a time), the diagonal lines also beingused, although, as explained above, a setcannot be made diagonally. The endeavourof either player is still to take his opponent's
The game was usually playedon the village green, the diagrambeing cut out of the turf andholes made at each of the angles,
in which the "men " were placed.Each player had nine pieces(whence the name Nine Men'sMorris) and while one would playwith stones, his opponent wouldhave wooden pegs in order todistinguish between their respective sets. When played in thehome the diagram was commonlychalked on the side of' thekitchen bellows or at the back of the family chess-board, andpieces of clay pipe, or anythingelse that was handy, used as men.It is probable that the name wasderived from the word merelles,which was the ancient French
name for the counters whichwere often used as men. Thealternative name which has been 22preserved for us by " th' immortalbard " is variously explained by his com
mentators ; but the general opinion seemsto be that it was suggested by the sortof dance which the counters appeared toperform, being moved backwards and forwards on the board as though executinga morris-dance.
There were many other names by whichthis pastime was known. In Hone 's " Everyday Book" (1828) it is described under thetitle of Ninepenny Marl. The writer relatesa story of an exceedingly pious old gentlemanliving in his neighbourhood, who was a great
adept at the game. A bet was made thathe should be induced to play it on a Sabbathduring church hours. The next Sundaymorning as the old gentleman was on his wayto church as usual, he was aceosted by twoacquaintances and asked to decide a knot typoint on a game which was at that momentbeing played in an adjoining house.
4S 6
/
11
/ /
11
7 8 9
12 13
16 17 18
14
/
; /
7 8 9
12 13
16 17 18
; / \
/ 20
15
23 24
men, and this may be effected both by makingup new sets or by moving out one of the menin a previously formed trio and re-makingthe set by placing it back again with thenext move.
The game becomes most exciting when oneof the players has only three men left on theboard. At this stage he is not confined tomoving along the lines one space at a time,but is at liberty to place his men upon anyvacant point on the board, which of coursegives him an opportunity of hindering hisopponent in the making of further sets.
But he must be wary, for should he lose onemore man he is defeated. It is by no meansimpossible for him, however, even with threemen only to play with, to eventually winthe game.
The following is the record of an actualgame recently played by the writer, whorecommends his readers to work it out on
the board for themselves if they wish to geta good insight into the method of playing.
PART I .
Black White
5 22
8 2
7 9
4 6
11 19
12 * 10
16 (tal :es 10) 101 21 »
20 14 (takes 20)
•A good move, as it secures a doubleopportunity of scoring. In the foregoingpart of the game, the Black, in spite of havingthe advantage of the first move, has maderather poor play ; for his men are hemmed
in, only one of them being movable, whileWhite is free to mo ve to all parts of the board.Black, however, has not far to move to makenew sets.
PART II.
Black
16-17
17-16 (takes 19)
16-19 (takes 9)
White
22-23
10-22
A fatal mistake. He should have takenone of the bottom line.
19-10
7-12
8- 9
4- 7
1-2
21-24 (takes 12)24-21 (takes 11)21-24 (takes 12)
2—3
24-21 (takes 9)21-24 (takes 7)
Black is now free to move anywherehe likes, having only three men on theboard.
PART III.
Black White
20-8 (takes S) 14-15
8-3 6-14
3- 8 (takes 15) 14-15
8-21 15-3
21-8 (takes 3) 22-21
8-22 21-85-10 8- 1
2-12 1-11
White's last move was a very bad one, asit loft No. 1 vacant. Black has now onlyto move 12 to 1, and having thus secured aset he takes any of White 's men and winsthe game.
BETWEEN THE TWO: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 SBRCOMBB GRIFFIN,
The Dumb Chief," etc., etc.
Serial Story.
Author of
• The Mad Tatheht," " A Qoorkha's Kookri,
CHAPTER XI .—T HE END OF ONE CHASE, AND THE COMMENCEMENT OF ANOTHER.
' FfEY see US,
cried Armstrong, as heheard the blastof Dawson'shorn. " I wonder if theyguess that wemeant them to
see us. Awaywe go throughthe gap in thehedge, acrossthe middle of the next field.T h e y ' l l bebound to seethe scent."
T o g e t h e rArmstrong andHuniset ranacross the open
field, but the high hedge concealed theirmovements. A stone wall separated themfrom a third field; over this wall theyscrambled and scattered paper freely, thenback they clambered, and laid " sc en t"
up and down under the lee of the wall,all their movements being concealed fromthe distant Hounds. Then they doubledback on their tracks, and turning off atright angles, close to the hedge, but notgoing through, they made straight for thevalley again.
The ruse succeeded perfectly. The leadingHounds, headed by Dawson, came to thegap in the hedge ; they saw the " scent "in plentiful supply, leading across the nextfield; and they dashed on, heedless of theside track which led off at an abrupt anglein the shadow of the hedge.
" Fault! " cried Dawson, puzzled at thedistribution of the paper in the vicinity of the wall. " Scatter and pick up the scent
somehow."Bowney sent Halstead over the wall to
investigate , while he himself followed thetrail leading down, and Andrews the trailleading up. Dawson jumped upon thewall, and explored up and down the top of it. But all the tracks lacked continuity.
From the opposi te side of the valley,Armstrong and Huniset watched the puzzledproceedings of the Hounds.
" Nous avons scored, fairly puzzled thechiens, n'est-ce pas, mon brave ? " exclaimedthe delighted Huniset, who had originatedthe doubling-back scheme which was mystifying the unhappy Hounds.
" Yes, we're getting our wind back,
while they are still using up their's runninghither and thither like a motor-car not surewhich way it's meant to go, " replied Armstrong as ho peered through a screen of twigswhich was affording concealment for thetired Hares ; they had been going hard forthirty minutes.
" The kids are hanging on to the pack pluckily enough, ies braves. I'll guaranteethat black vivace speck coming up the hill,driving four tres fatigues specks before it, isour bon camarade Sneider. There's a goodfifty Hounds still running—and the rest ? Helas J "
" They'll be gathering together a decentpack again," said Armstrong, as he brisklymassaged the calves of his legs. " Thefault in front will give those behind time tocatch up with the leading Hounds."
" Oui, mon ami, you've about describedthe situation. I'll follow your examplere les jambes—hang i t! is that the rightword—and then I shall be game for anotherdemiheure."
" I think it's time to move," said Armstrong, taking another glance at the distantHounds. " I fancy Dawson is dropping toour tactics. And anyway, it's best to get on.You never know what's going to happennext, as the sailor said when he fell overboard on to a whale's back."
" Avoncons ! " cried Huniset.
" Come on, you mellifluous one. We' ll goright on through Jacobs Wood, make a dashacross the open to Fuller's barn, and then
along under the wall on the brow to thepoint where the hill juts out. Once roundthat, we'll sprint for 'The Battle-fields' andthere take a well-earned rest. What d'yousay to that, my Honey ? "
" Let' s ! " said Huniset.
Neither, however, allowed for a little up
raised rootlet of mountain ash. As theyscrambled over the bank on the farther sideof Jacobs Wood, Huniset caught his foot inthe exposed root, and went headlong intethe ditch, where he lay stunned. Not forvery long, however.
" Malheureux, beastly malheureux " •—
Armstrong heard him murmur.It was well the Hares had gained such a
good lead, for the accident detained themsome minutes, while the Hounds rapidlygained on them.
Leaning heavily on Armstrong's shoulder,Huniset insisted on an advance; so Armstrong changed his plans, and went slowlydown into the valley again, in the shelterof Jacobs Wood. It was a trifle risky, forwhile the Hares were proceeding slowly downon one side of the wood, the leading Houndswere toiling up the other side. Still, JacobsWood was a good half-mile in width, andbeing overgrown with short bushes as wellas thick with trees, it afforded an absolutelyimpenetrable screen.
Huniset rapidly recovered, and whenthey reached the depths of the valley again,he and Armstrong bathed their foreheads ina stream that went rippling and tumblingnoisily along its stony bed, between highbanks.
The cold water revived Huniset and evidently set his brain working wily plans, forsuddenly he proposed a scheme wherebythey might deceive the oncoming Hounds.
" The very thing ! " exclaimed Armstrong,and together the two Hares waded downstream, dropping the " scent" as they went,and laughing gleefully as the little bits of paper were swept onward, leaving scarcelya trace behind. It was, confessedly, adodge, but it was not the first time thatsuch a course had been taken, and it wasconsidered legitimate sport.
" Ah!—the old trick again," drawled
Dawson as, coming up with five Hounds,he fathomed the situation. " Scatter alongeach bank up and down—most probably theyhave gone down—and see if you can pick upthe ' sce nt' anywhere."
Dawson himself was almost shaken outof his composure when, after ten minutes'
Cyril proceeded to tell the story of hisfeigned illness, his surreptitious visit to theSchool, his intermixing of cycles and accessories, his escape, his fatal carelessness inleaving his c ap as a clue, and his finding thecap in his locker wth a note from the TudorGhost.
" Of course, the chap who found the capwrote the note," said Cressington, as Cyrilfinished his story. He was not a ltogether
pleased that someone else should share hisknowledge of the Mixed Bicycles.
" But who can the chap be ? " said Cyril." I thought it was you , Rup ert ; then Ithought Peters had done it, but Peters hadn'teven heard the story of the Ghost."
" Then, of course, the Ghost must havewritten it," said Cressington with a laugh.
" Terry says Ghosts walk sometimes, butthey only appear to people who are in awfulperil." ,
" And it's sheer rot to think of you beingin peril," the elder boy added quiokly, asif to reassure himself and Cyril.
" The only danger I'm in now—Brice isnearly well—is of being taken from K.E.S.and sent to the slummy school in Milden
Lane."" Don't worry," said Cressington, putting
his arms affectionately around Cyril's neck." The cycle biz is a dead secret. Armstrongdoesn 't know anything about your part in it,does he ? "
" No fear ! " responded Cyril. " Or hewould have given me no end of a jawing."
" And I expect he would think it his dutyto sneak to Sandy," added Cressington." He's a good straight chap and all that,and he would think, being rather a prig,that he ought to let Sandy know how younearly killed young Brice, and caused thatawful shindy in the cycle store."
" Yes, I suppose I must never let Arm.strong know, " said Cyril reluctantly. " But,
look, here comes Terry ! He mustn't knowwe've been having a chat."So the two boys fell into place again, and
persistently jogged after the disappearingHounds. Cressington soon gave up, butCyril and Terry were determined to earn thetitle of " School Harrier," whioh wasaccorded to all who ran through from startto finish.
Armstrong and Huniset had taken to theshelter of the valley, which afforded plentyof cover. There was a good couple of milesbetween them and Dawson, who still headedthe pack. Taking advantage of the clumpsof bushes, and the stretches of bracken,brown with autumn tints, the Hares trendedto the west where was a bare conioal hill,which they ascended on the side remotefrom the pursuing Hounds.
" Now for a bite of lunch," said Armstrong, as they reached the summit, con
cealed by the clump of trees.Some bars of milk chocolate were pro
duced, and much relished, spite of a certainflabby consistency induced by the method of porterage during the morning.
From their vantage ground on Keston theHares could see the coun try stretching likea map before their eyes.
" We'll give them another hour's run ;and then, Mel—sticky one—we'll sprint forthe car at Westville, just giving old drawlerDawson time to come up and see us goingoff on the car. Heigho , Mel, old man ! thisis something like living to-day ; I almost
missed it. I'v e got that exam, coming off early in February, and I didn't half likemissing the chance of a swot to-day."
" Oh, you're absolutely safe for gettingthat scholarship to Heathco te; I only wishI was as sure of passing my entrance exam,into the Bank next April; c'est tout."
" Mel, you're heaps cleverer than 1 1 "
exclaimed Armstrong, as he tightened hisbelt, and attended to other details preparatory to the final run home.
" Taisez-vous, old Tortoise, " replied Huniset, as he, too, prepared for another start." You're smart enough, and what's moreyou're—good. Do you remember thatterm when I was going a bit wild, andyou "
" Shut up ! or I'll punch your head, you
mellifluous Mel," interrupted Armstrong." And now here's confusion to all our enemies,the Hounds ! " So saying both boys flickedthe last scraps of chocolate into their mouths,and set off down the hill on the farther side.Barring accidents, it was an easy run home.
Even easier than they thought. Theyhad ample time to walk the last quarter-mileto the electric car terminus, take liquid
nourishment and jam sandwiches at anadjacent confectioner's, and quietly get onto the car in time to wave a fond farewellto Dawson and Bowney, who could be seencoming into sight, running for all they wereworth.
So ended the Paper-chase, though therewere several valiant juniors for whomthe chase did not end until a couple of hoursafterwards. Amongst those valiant Hounds
were Cyril Falkland and Terry O'Brien,who thus gained the appellation " School
Harrier," to be theirs henceforth and forever.
For Cyril Falkland one chase was over, butanother was only commencing. He mustlay the Tudor Ghost. He must run It toeaith. Who could It be ? He must run" the Ghost " to earth.
be
Continued.
How WE CAUGHT OUR FIRST PYTHON. By ROBERT J. COLBNSO, M.D.
( " U M N Y A I Z A " ) ,
Author of " Black and White Bays," etc.
WHILST my brother and I were cleaning
our guns one forenoon, a Zuluappeared breathless and exci ted. Salutingme, as the elder of the two, in the usualmanner, " Ink osi ! Baba ! (Sir, Father) "he told us that at about two miles fromour old home he had come upon a large " in-hlatu,"—a python, misnamed, locally, boaconstrictor. Many of the South Africanfauna and flora are similarly miscalled.
My brother, " Gebuza," and I lost notime in loading our guns with an extra largecharge of powder and swan-shot, and, inproceeding to the spot, went along a Kaffirpath through grass which was mostly of theshort red " ins ind e" (buffalo grass), buthere and there interrupted by clumps of lofty " isiqungu " (tambootie), which, wavingtheir red flags in the tepid breeze, gave off a hot and aromatic odour. We had towalk in file, with many a twist and turn,for Kaffir paths, which are trodden out byyears of passing footsteps, admit not twoabreast. Their sinuosities are due to thenatives' habit of invariably avoiding, orcircumventing, any obstacle that may
hurt their unshod feet.It was a very warm day . The sun poured
fervent rays down from the zenith. Quivering undulations of heated air rose streamingupwards from the sultry veldt . Save forthe chirping of grasshoppers, and themewing cry of the " inqomfi " (or long-clawed lark— Maeronyx Amelice) all was
still, and the sky was as an unblemishedsapphire. We had talked eagerly whenwe first set forth, but through the swelteringheat, and a sense that we were approachinga scene of excitement, perhaps of peril, hadlapsed into silence.
Presently our Zulu guide paused with awarning gesture, and began to steal alongslowly and cautiously. At his heels we had just followed him into a thicker patch of tambootie grass, when he shrunk back,and pointing with closed fist^-in whichmanner a native maintains he does not scarethe creature indicated—retired discreetly toour rear. We crept onward, and therebeforo us, lying between two clumps of thereedy grass, saw a solid scale-clad cylindereighteen inches long and nearly a foot inthickness, which was obviously part of thereptile we had come to attack. It wasdark coloured, and marbled, and had apeculiar iridescenco and a bloom upon it,like to that of a well-ripened purple plum.
Our first question was, as to what part of the creature was disclosed before us,at a distance of a few yards only. Our
next, as to which of us two should have thehonour , and the danger, of a first shot. Asto what would happen next wo did notpause to imagine, for we had never met a
boa constrictor " at close quarters before.In after years perhaps we might have beenmore cautious! Strain our eyes as wecould, we were unable to perceive any other
part of the great snake, which, judgingfrom the sample revealed, was in truth amighty one.
The question as to who should shootfirst was soon settled in the ordinary nativefashion. Breaking off an inch of grass•stalk, I pressed its ends between my fingerand thumb, asking my brother to makehis choice. He chose the wrong end, foron separating my two digits the strawstuck to the finger he had not indicated. So
the die was cast, and without more ado Iloosed off my weapon at the visible lump of reptile.
Instantly, and all around us, everything«eemed to become—snake. Great writhingpurple coils rose, fell, and smote the air,and crashed and swept through the tossingtambootie grass. It was clearly evidentthat we had walked right into the centreof the huge python, as he lay extendedin a curve around the pathway in ambush,awaiting his prey. My brother's shot rangou t closely upon my own, and after abreathless minute we found ourselves•unhurt, though somewhat scared, as thegreat coils sank quivering in death. Wethen discovered that the first shot had
penetrated the python' s neck, almostsevering its spine, and we congratulatedourselves, feeling as important as St. Georgeon slaying his dragon !
We next proceeded to straighten out andmeasure our prize. Its length was exactlytwenty feet, its greatest thickness thirtyinches in circumference. Two other nativeshad followed us at some distance, and nowall five of us took up the long and heavyreptile, and carried it home on our shouldersin Indian file, looking not unlike an ancientEgyptian hieroglyph. There we skinnedits head, and, making this fast to a tree,attempted to drag off the rest of the hide;but this manoeuvre proved a failure—soclosely does a python's skin adhere to its
flesh. We were therefore forced to flay thereptile carefully with knives, from end toend—a job that lasted for hours. Subsequently this skin was tanned, lying forweeks in a tan pit of Australian wattlebark, and eventually it was hung, and stillhangs, on the walls of an Oxford collegeroom.
One of the two natives who followedsis, and helped to carry home the deadpython, had lost an eye in some accident,and had therefore become a follower of jEsculapius. The South African nativehas an innate aversion to a maimed ormutilated person, and the sufferer usuallytakes to the profession of medicine,thereby acquiring greater consideration and
considerable profit. This one-eyed man,named Baimbai (cannon), had followed usfor professional reasons. He needed for hisoharmacopceia bits of the python's anatomy,such as its heart and liver, parts of itsvertebrae, etc., and since the " inhlatu " issomewhat of a sacred and inviolable creatureto the native, he could only obtain thesemedicaments through our aid. The Zuludoctors, the " iziNyanga, " have their ownvegetable and mineral drugs, but portions of the internal organs of any rare or unobtainable creatures are valued by them as charmsor medicines. We used to smile at suchremedies; nowadays, however, since the discoveries made in animal therapeutics, we areinclined to believe that there may have been
something useful in such nostrums.Baimbai, somehow, invariably got wind
of anything out of the common that I hadshot or captured, and would turn up veryshortly to beg for a portion. In after yearsthis doctor had a great practice, and wasmuch sought after and feared. He used topay periodical visits to the sea on foot,
forty miles away, to obtain sea water, cuttlefish bones—which he called " excrementsof the moon "—and other medicaments. Onsuch occasions, he always paid me a call,and we would swap news and drugs.
This python was the first I had seen, andthe largest I have since heard of, or killed.It was hungry and empty, or some part of its body would have been trebled or quadrupled in size by its prey, which is swallowedwhole. This is often quite a large-sized
antelope or other animal, which one wouldthink impossible to be thus devoured. Theprocess of deglutition, however, if slow, isvery sure, and is also very disgusting. Forthe snake's head stretches and stretches,until it is like to split open. The prey isusually seized by a hind leg, and this isreadily swallowed up to the rump. Thencomes a delay, and, without seeing it done,one could not believe that the distended
jaws could open farther.
By virtue, however, of a beautiful mechanism, whereby the mandible is not directlyattached to the skull save through themedium of a long and loosely jointed" quadrate " bone, and because the skullbones themselves are loosely knit together,
they stretch still wider, and the toothedpalate bones continue working and hookingthe carcase in. Then the free leg movesforward until it is closely applied to theanimal's body, and, the rump at last havingpassed the snake's jaws, the remainderfollows easily and quickly travels downto about the middle of its body.
Slow though this process of deglutitionmay be, a snake, if attacked, will disgorgeits prey in a second or two. At least thisis the case with the smaller ones. I oncewatched a South African viper, the " In-Hlangwana " (Cau&us Sp.), chase and seizeand swallow a frog. The latter camehurrying past me towards the water, inlong flying leaps, such as a frog will only
make with a snake at its heels. I knewwhat was terrifying it, and awaited theoutcome. A final desperate leap landedthe frog half in and half out of a streamlet,where it lay motionless. In a second ortwo, as I had expected, down came a snake—the viper—on its track. It came along busilywith its head close to the earth, and itsblack forked tongue flickering every nowand then out of its mouth. It was nowscenting the frog, like a hound runningdown its prey, and must have possessed akeen sense of smell, for the frog's frantichops were at least a yard apart. Baffledby the water for awhile, it began castingaround and beating along the streamlet.Then the poor victim happened to extend
a leg. Instantly the viper seemed to rushitself through the air, and in a flash hadseized the frog by the leg.
I now felt moved to interfere, but seeingthat the frog lay absolutely motionless,came to the conclusion that it had beenkilled instantaneously by the snake'svenom. Without stirring, I waited to seehow it was possible for a snake to swallow acreature that was at least four times asbroad as its own head. In half an hour thiswas steadily accomplished in the mannerabove described. When a huge lump in themiddle of the snake's body showed whereits meal had arrived, I thought it best tokill this very poisonous viper, and struck it a blow on the head with the handle of a
butterfly net I was carrying. To myastonishment, the swallowed frog was instantly ejected, and it quietly hopped away!
The next instant the viper, with a pieceof skin hanging down over one eye, cameat me looking like a demon. No time waslost in despatching it, and then I turned toattend to the frog. It was no longer to be
seen ! It had vanished safely down thestreamlet, after its Jonah-like and temporary sojourn in the belly of the snake !
Until recently, there were supposed tobe in South Africa several species of python,but according to the latest authority,Brulenger, there is but one—" PythonSelice." It has no poison fangs, butcrushes its victim—if large—in its coils,
and swallows it whole. Since it can catch,crush and swallow wholesale a fairly large
and powerful buck, it could probablysim'larly dispose of a human being. I havenever, however , heard any authenticatedaccount of one having done so. Alone of all snakes, it has the rudiments of hindlimbs, in the form of claw-like spines, oneither side of the anal aperture.
XX XX
T H E "EOTJSIBTG STICK."
(See Drawing on p. 145.)
IN former times the question of folk falling asleep during divine service was onethat greatly exercised the minds of churchofficials. E\entual ly, as certain listeners
refused to be stirred up by the discourse, itwas decided to stir them up in another way,and the Beadle was deputed to make theround of the congregation with a " rousingstick," with which he was to enforce attention. Where there was no beadle some onewas specially selected to perform the duty.
This old custom was in vogue in the earlyyears of last century, for there is a record of one, Betty Finch, " a very masculine sort of woman," being given the office at HolyTrinity Church, Warrington. Mistress Finchstalked up and down the aisles during service, armed with a great st ick like a fishing-rod which had a " bob " fastened a t the endof it, and with this she energetically nudgedthe sleepers.
From " Notes and Queries " we learn thatin 1736 "t he Churchwardens of Prestwich,near Manchester, resolved that 13*. per yearbe given to George Grimshaw of Rooden
Lane for ye time being, and a new coat notexceeding 20s. every other year, for histrouble and pains in wakening sleepers in yechurch, w hipping out dogs, keeping childrenquiet and orderly."
" Gone flying off after this bag," gruntedWalford. You ought to be——"
" To the Heath, boys ! " broke in Tapp ." No quibbling after the oracle has spoken.Ribson will come along presently. I'mnearly frozen."
They all sprinted up a rise to get warm,glancing back every now and then to look
for Ribson.
" He knows we are going to the Sandpit,"
said Walford. " Nothing will keep him
away from the grub. Afterwards, I look for a first-class mill between him and Porter,over that bag business."
" The Pond ! " suddenly cried Hedling." It's sure to bear. Who' s for a slide ?Let's have a go till Ribson catches up."
Walford put down his precious bag on ahigh hillock of snow, so as to be well in view.All four were soon engaged in cutting out alengthy slide, glad to feel the glow of warmth
stealing into their limbs.Perhaps ten minutes passed in this de
lightful sport; then Tapp looked up to seetwo figures approaching them. One wasundoubtedly a policeman ; the other an oldman with stooping shoulders. They werehurrying.
" I do believe they are coming to join us,"laughed Tapp.
Certainly the two strangers made a bee-line for the Pond.
" Mind they don't pinch your bag, Walford," cried Porter. " I saw them bothpoint at it."
" They are coming here ! " exclaimedHedling. " What' s up ? I saw the oldgent shake his fist at us. What is he doing ? "
The old gentleman ran up to Walford'sbag and picked it up. Walford ran towardshim in amazement.
" Hi, there ! " he shouted. " That's mybag ! "
Your bag 1" growled the old manfuriously. " Are you sure it's your bag,yo u
young scamp ? "" Quite sure," returned Walford, pantingup.
" Seize him, officer!" cried the oldgentleman, who seemed beside himself withrage. The policeman moved towards Walford.
" What's up ? " exclaimed Tapp, runningacross.
" All right, Mr. Innocence ! " snappedthe old man. " I daresay you are all in it.Sad, sad indeed, it is that four young fellowsshould s toop to highway robbery ! "
" What are you doing with Walford'sbag ? " demanded Tap p, incensed at hismanner.
" Oh ! you—you— " scolded the oldfellow. " Do you know who I am ? "
" No," retorted Tapp defiantly." I am Godfrey Fitzwiggle," said the old
man pompously. " And this bag containstreasures which I would not lose for twentypounds—•—"
" Nine-and-fourpence is what they cost,"broke in Walford.
" What does the flippant youth say ? "bridled Fitzwiggle.
" What are you doing here ! " asked thepoliceman.
" We are out on a picnic ," replied Tapp." Picnic t To-day ? In this weather ? "
shuddered the constable." Yes. And that bag contains our pro
vender," said Tapp.
-' He ! he ! he ! " chuckled Fitzwiggle.
" Provender ! Going to ea t these ? He!he ! he ! the boy 's mad ! "
" Where did you get this bag ? " askedthe officer of Walford. " Come ! own up ! "
" From home—it is my father's," saidWalford.
" Oh, it's your father's, is it t " mocked
the old man. " And you are going to eatthe contents, are you ? Perhaps if I showyou what the contents are, you will alteryour tone."
He jerked the bag open as he spoke, andadded : " Now, look here ! there's—gracious me ! tinned salmon, buns, chocolatecreams, bloater paste—what's all this ? "
" They are 01 rs," maintained Walford." All bought with our own money. You'll
have to answer for this."
The old man laid the bag down and gazedat it in stupefaction.
" Where's my treasure — my Vipera Berui ? " he moaned in very real distress.
" What have you done with them ? "" Don't know the party in question,"
replied Tapp. " We only know that thatbag is ours and all it contains. I reckonthere'll be trouble over this."
" That's all right," interposed the police
man soothingly . " Professor Fitzdiggle "" Fitzwiggle— " corrected the old man." Fikstiggle — Professor Figstipr le,"
blundered the officer, " has made a slightmistake. This is evidently not your bag,Professor. We must look elsewhere."
With this, the policeman led the old
fellow away. The four youths watchedthem go, wondering hugely what hadhappened to cause this strange visitation.
They returned to their slide, still discussing the incident. Five minutes later,the triumphant voice of Roddy Ribson washeard approaching; the next moment hebounded over a heap of snow and burst inamong them.
" I've got i t ! " he cried in glee. " Theold bounder didn't do me. He was too bigfor me to tackle, so I just stalked him.Then, while he was pottering about withsome plant or other, I pounced on the bag,snatched it up and bolted."
He flung a bag down in the snow as hespoke. His friends had turned to him as he
narrated his story, and their eyes grew widewith astonishment. Now the}' were staringopen-mouthed at the bag he had brought ;then they all swung round and stared at theother bag.
" What's wrong with you ? " criedRibson, amazed at their sudden silence.
" That—that bag you' ve brough t! "stammered Ta pp uncomfortably. " Whatis it ? Whose is it ? "
" That's Walford's, of course. It's gotour grub "
" But there is Walford' s bag ! " interrupted Tapp, pointing to the one the Professor had opened.
It was Ribson's turn to stare now. Hewalked across and examined the other bag ;then he came back and eyed the one he had
captured, and dismay crept into his eyes.A dreadful feeling gripped him. A cold
shiver ran down his back. His short-livedtriumph had ended in a most dismal fiasco.And that ass, Porter, was positively grinning.
CHAPTER III.—IN WHICH BITERS GET BADLY
BITTEN.
IT was Timothy Tapp who ended a mostpainful silence by asking :
" I say, Ribson, was the man you obtainedthis bag from an old fellow with greywhiskers, a hooked nose, soft felt hat, andgrey overcoat ? "
That's him ! " cried Ribson.
" Then it was Professor Fitz-what's-his-name," said Tapp. " And he has beenhere."
" Here ? No ! " gasped Ribson." Yes, and he came after his bag, and
talked about highway robbery," continuedTapp . " I see it all, now. "
" What a horrible dilemma ! " exclaimedRibson dismally.
" You acted in good faith, old fellow,"
said Tapp. " The bag is certainly the Professor's, and the Professor must have it.That bounder, Porter, is the cause of allthe trouble. You needn't smile, Porter. Ipropose that Porter do take the bag back and explain."
" Here, I say!" broke in Porter,horrified.
" You played the goat down at the station,"said Healing. " I propose that Porter takeit back at once."
" But that's not fair," protested Porter." I propose we all go, " said Walford." I propose that Porter and I go together,"
said Ribson." I propose that he who brought it takes
it back," said Porter defiantly.
" Here is the hat ! " cried Tapp. " Inwith your discs."
The five discs jingled together in thefatal hat. Porter was invited to draw hisfate. He drew out Hedling's disc !
" Porter takes the bag back at once,"
said Tapp.Without a word the bag was instantly
shouldered, and Porter marched off in searchof the Professor, dismally puzzling his brainsfor something to say when he faced thatirate gem leman. To add to his dismay, hehad not the least idea where Professor Fitzwiggle lived. He might have to wanderabout all day making inquiries, and so losethe picnic altogether. He decided to makefor the road down which the Professor andthe pol ceman had disappeared.
" I say, you fellows," Baid Tapp, twominutes later. " I fancy I shall run afterold Porter. If that Professor Fitzjiggleturns rusty, ourchum may want a baoker up."
" Hooray ! " cried Walford. " Let's allgo ; then we can take our bag and show himthat it is as like his as one pea is like another."
Meanwhile, Cecil Porter* had reached thehigh road and broken into a run ; for hewas eager to get the ordeal over. He hadtrotted for perhaps half a mile, when alanky tramp, wearing a blue choker, sprangout of the hedge in front of him.
This was the same fellow who had beenloitering about the station, but Porter didnot know that. The way he stood in theroad and eyed the oncoming youth madethe latter stare inquiringly.
" Smart bit of work, t ha t !" said thetramp with a grin.
" What was that ? " asked Cecil, notliking his look.
" Sneaking that bag," grinned the fellow.
" Oh ! " sniffed Porter. " What do youknow of it ? "
" Just enough for myself, and more thanenough for you," returned the tramp." Where are you off to, now ? "
" To return the bag to its owner, "answered the boy.
" To—what ? "
" To return this bag to "" Return i t! Are you mad ? " inter
rupted the fellow, lurching forward.Hands off!" cried Porter, backing.
" What do you mean ? "" I'll show you, soon enough," snarled
the other, seizing the bag. " Let go ! Igo halves."
" Help!" yelled Porter, strugglingmanfully.
" Let the lad alone ! " cried a female voice,
and a stout woman hurried towards them,swinging a wet mop in the air.
But the lanky man drove his fist inPorter's face, and the lad went down in thesnow. The next instant the woman's mop,charged with dirty water, was thrust fullin the man 's face.
woman, dealing his face another jab withher evil-smelling mop.
Porter sprang to his feet, his nose bleeding ; but the footpad turned and fled,carrying the bag with him.
Two minutes later, up came Tapp and theothers, to find Porter bathing .his face in a
bucket of water. From the woman theysoon got the hang of the facts , and all five
of them, leaving their bag with her, went fly
ing off in furious chase of Porter's assailant.
At the top of the hill they caught sight of him. He was a quarter of a mile away,kneeling down by a hedge, close to a stile,trying to open the bag.
" Come on, you fellows ! " cried Tappexcited ly. " Wo have got the bounderset ." And they all darted down hill.
" Look ! Look ! " exclaimed Ribsonsuddenly , stopping short. " There's theold fellow from whom I took the bag ! "
It was true. Professor Godfrey Fitz-wiagle was crossing a field alone. Moreover,the path he was hurrying along came out
at the very stile near which the footpadwas kneeling.All five of the boys kept their eyes fixed
upon the Professor. He was fast nearingthe stile. And the man was still tuggingat the bag. They waited in suspense.
Fitzwiggle reached the stile and peeredover. Then he threw up his hands sharplyand began to clamber over.
" Hooray ! " chuckled Hedling. " TheProfessor has spot ted the bag. Now the funcommences. Look how he is shaking hiswalking-stick ! "
" This is grand ! " muttered Walford,watching with keen interest the scene beingenacted fifty yards away.
The footpad with the bag was too muchabsorbed in his task to notice the approachof the enemy behind him.
Suddenly, the bag shot open with a snap.The man glanced triumphantly inside i t ;then he dropped the bag and started to hisfeet with a cry of horror. He nearly fellagainst the oncoming Professor. Thatgentleman raised his stick and brought itdown heavily on the tramp's battered hat.With a yell the fellow rolled in the snow,rubbing his head ruefully.
" Steal my lovely Vipera Berus, wouldyou 1" stormed the Professor, seizing hisbag and aiming another blow of his stick at the patch on the fellow's trousers. " Takethat, and "
But the foo tpad had had quite enough.He sprang to his feet and saw the five boysrunning up ; then he turned and vanished
over the stile with precipitate haste." Ah ! my boys," exclaimed the Professortriumphantly as Tap p and the others cameup. You see, I have recovered mytreasure. Ah ! that scoundrel will notforget it in a hurry, either. That ash stick of mine is heavy, and I fear I struck hard.See ! yonder lies his ha t: the trophies of the comba t are mine ! " He lowered his
voice as he added : " I am sorry I so mis judged you , my lads. I may have damagedthe eatables in your bag, too. Let me give
you five shillings as a little recompense,since you have been so good as to forget mytrespass and hurry to my aid. Ah ! mylovely Vipera Berus! What a fright thescamp had when he opened the bag ! "
" Wha t was in the bag, sir ? askedTapp, amazed at the old fellow's raptures.
Of course, they are torpid , now. Like tosee them ? There they are, the beauties !And now, go od-day to you ! "
" I am afraid, sir, we ought not to takethis money," said Tapp, detaining him.
" Nonsense, my lad—not a word ! "returned the Professor, hurrying away inhigh good humour.
I say, you fellows," said Tapp . " Wehave no right to this five bob, youknow."
" I propose it go to the general fund,"said Walford.
" I propose it goes to the valiant lady whocame to my rescue with her mop ! " cried
Porter.The other three made proposals similarto Porter's ; and when the hat was consultedon the point, this view prevailed.
So they proceeded to get their bag, leftthe good dame five shillings richer than theyfound her, and went forth to the Heath toface with fortitude the rigours of theirwintry picnic.
Serial
Story.
THE SKY CRUISE OFTHE "KESTREL."
By JOHN LEA,
Author of *' Lcutch)ord's Lion,*' '* My Cousin Douglas," etc.
THE EDITOR YVBS RIQHT "
tiyiOKI/i^ 15 /10T 0,000 FOR SOYS/
WHETHER it was due to the fact that
enthusiasm must suffer a lull, orbecause Captain GaskeU's announcementconcerning the prolongation of the Kes
trel's voyage beyond sundown, gave food
for silent thought, certain it is that conversation lapsed for a considerable period
after the tea-things were put away. Jamesand Claud, taking positions at opposite«ides of the car, gave themselves up oncemore to contemplation of the scene beneath.
During the rapid ascent which hadfollowed the rescue of the two boys from
CHAPTER VI.—A LESSON IN GEOGRAPHY,
the river near Oxford, the Kestrel had developed a rotary movement, spinning roundon its own axis at a considerable rate ; butthe density of the cloud, entered so quicklyafterwards, had prevented the voyagersbeing conscious of the movement at all,there being no objects visible to make itapparent. In the interval that had elapsedsince then, the Kestrel had almost recovered
its more dignified demeanour, but it s tillcontinued to turn slowly round.
Of course this action was only demonstrated to the occupants of the car by thespinning of the landscape beneath them, andso gradual was this that it failed at firstto awaken any surprise in the two boys.
When they did notice it, so huge was thepanorama and so stately the " ma rc h"which brought its various points into theline of sight, that a misunderstanding of thephenomenon,on the part of those who watchedit, can hardly be a matter of surprise. Itis a little curious, however, that they bothmade the same mistake and were bothdetermined not to express an opinion alouduntil certain of their facts.
" There now ! " said James softly, to
himself. " When I looked ahead a momentago I'm sure that that patch of woodlandwas more to the left, and now it's right infront of me."
" This time," muttered Claud, " I'll makecertain. There's the setting sun, three
A 'Shrilling Yarn of a
Balloon Voyage.
points to the le ft" (Claud's "three points "would have puzzled a mathematician todefine), " and that church spire is directly inour traok. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10—there now,we're making for the sunset, and the spire issailing away to the right. The matter is asclear as day lig ht; we are caught in a mildkind of cyclone which is carrying us roundand round in a circle."
James arrived a t the same conclusionsimultaneously and turned from his post of outlook to see Claud in the act of invitingCaptain GaskeU's attention to an importantobservation he had to make.
" I don't know, sir, if you have noticedit," said Claud, a little gingerly, " but weseem to be caught in one of those circularwinds which I have read of as sometimesblowing."
" Yes," echoed James. " I have testedour route of travel times and again, by fixingmy sight on some particular object in front,and each time we have veered away from it. "
Captain Gaskell had the consideration toconceal his amusement.
" There is no doubt," said he, " that onceour feet have left the comfortable stability
of mother earth, our heads are apt to beconfused by our surroundings. The mistakeyou have both made is justifiable and almostas reasonable as the facts which explain it.Now let me show you how to read the mapfrom a balloon."
He turned to the car side, while theystood on either hand, half doubting if hehad understood the discovery they had made.
" The Kestrel,'" went on the Captain," has been taking on giddy airs, and insteadof pursuing her course as a self-respectingairship should, is turning slowly round.If, while this is taking place, we fix our eyeson some object at the horizon, as youevidently did , we may very easily be deceivedas to the course of actual travel, unless we
counteract the rotary movement of theballoon by shifting our position in the car.Under present circumstances we may regardthe landscape as a huge wheel lying on itsside. If it were stationary, as the Kestrelallowed it t o be at the commencement of ourvoyage, we might ascertain our progressacross it by watching some object on therim, but just now this is apt to deceive us.Instead of looking so far away, suppose welook down at the hu b; that is, the partalmost immediately beneath us."
The two boys did so, and at once realisedtheir mistake; for though, even here, thespinning motion was still apparent, it boresuch a small proportion to the progress of theballoon, that object after object disappeared
beneath the car, not to appear again, as theydid when near the horizon."Well ," said Claud. "I'll never feel
certain of anything any more ."" Nor I," cried James, " for it seemed
so clear."
" Better to feel certain and receivecorrection," said their friend, " than beafraid to express an opinion lest it bewrong, and so live on in error. And no w, "he added with a smile, " as the sun isnearing its setting, suppose we studythe map of England while we can."
His two companions were only too eager,and the Captain went on :
" As we have come ' downstairs ' somewhat (to use Claud's expression) sincehaving tea, the opportunities for our study
will be greater than at three miles high.The Kestrel now is 5000 feet abovethe surface of the earth, as, even at thesacrifice of a little gas, I shrank from givingyou such a lofty bedroom. The heightwe are now at affords the vision a radiusof ninety-four miles. Thus we have a mapbelow us of no less than IS8 miles in diameter, which is much larger than any schoolatlas can supply. It is not, however,entirely at our disposal, as you see, onaccount of clouds and vapours obstructingthe view over many parts. However, thereis enough to keep us busy in an expansethat stretches from Manchester t o Southampton, and from Cardiff to King'sLynn."
"Then, aocording to that," said James,we are still within sight of home."
" Almost," replied the aeronaut, " butyou must not suppose that, at such adistance, a small object like a house would bedistinguishable, even granting a less murkyatmosphere. We had better confine ourselvesto matters nearer at hand. For instance,while we were poetising over James's oup of tea, we were sailing above a spot of greatcommercial dignity—the renowned ci ty of Birmingham. There it still lies, some twentymiles to the south."
The boys followed with their eyes thedirection he indicated, and saw a dark patch on the surface of the earth, the detailsof which were difficult to make out . Eventhe binoculars lent little assistance, and itwas only when Captain Gaskell explainedwhat was most confusing that they beganto realise some of those details.
" Flat as it all seems," cried James,who had got the glasses, " what lookslike rows of houses are out off suddenly
by deep dark pits, and great drifts of earth."
" The drifts of earth," laughed his friend," are beautiful hills that oppose their topsbetween us and the streets of Birmingham;and the dark pits are the valleys in whichthe shadows of night are now collec ting."
Claud, who took the glasses in turn,did not loiter long over his inspectionof the Midland metropolis, but sweepingthe great panorama with his magic lenses,
cried out suddenly: " I'v e caught a churchtower ! I found it by the setting sunlightglittering on its weather vane."
" Well, what is it ? " asked the Captain." I don' t know, " was the reply. " It's
a little church, farther off than Birmingham,—oh, it is tiny—with some trees growinground it, and a beautiful, beautiful riverflowing under its very walls."
" Is there any town near it ? " asked theaeronaut.
" Y—e—e—-s ! " cried the delighted Claud," I've got it now—and there's the sunlightmaking it clear for a moment—and almostall round the town there's a piece of shiningwire—I suppose it's a railway. But thechurch is a beautiful place. I wonder "
Captain Gaskell at this point broke intoa laugh.
" You have found Worcester Cathedral,"said he, " and, in what you are pleased to calla tiny church, is the tom b of John Lackland."
" But it's a to y, " went on Claud, " andI should not have thought King John could
have got into it. Hullo ! it's disappearing.The sunset light has left the golden vane, thebeautiful tower is dim and the river is—there, it is all gone now."
And with quite a sad little sigh he loweredthe glasses.
" That's the first time I ever saw WorcesterCathedral," said he, " and I shall not behappy till I have seen it again — onearth."
" I fear," said Captain Gaskell presently,
" that we shall n ot have much more chanceof studying our native land to-night, forthe shades are rapidly deepening, and out of them I see the first twinkling fires of Wolverhampton."
The lights he spoke of were not at sucha distance as the other objects they hadbeen looking at, though they lay also to thesouth.
" Then," said Claud, who prided himself on his geography, " I suppose we are enteringthe Black Country."
" We are," was the reply, " and thoughit may shock you both to hear it, I shallshortly expect my lieutenants to turn in ; forI have work for them at an early hour."
At that moment, the idea of sleep seemed
only to be described by the one word" preposterous ! " But James and Claudtold their friend that if he would only letthem see the actual nightfall they woulddo their utmost to take rest immediatelyafterwards.
" You know," said James, anxious to pavethe way for the accomplishment of hiswishes, " I am not much of a sleeper at thebest of times, and before now, I have satup all night."
" What / think," put in Claud, " is thatwe are not likely to spend a night in a balloonvery often, so we ought to make the mostof the opportunity."
This was an argument that CaptainGaskell found hard to controvert, so, withan amused " Very well, till nightfall," helet the boys have their way.
And the two lieutenants proceeded to" make the most of their opportunity."
They watched the great world beneaththem slowly darken, turning their eyesfrom it now and then to see how the warm
glow of the sun still bathed the silkenglobe above their heads. It seemed asthough the daylight would never leave therealm in which they soared, and long afterthe dark expanse below was dotted hereand there by twinkling sparks, there wasscarcely any change in the radiance aroundthem. But when at last that change came,it came almost suddenly. The sky abovethem darkened as by magic, and a thousandstars flashed into sight.
Everything below, obscured before, nowlost all vestige of outline, and soon afterthe balloon seemed to be hanging in thecentre of a vast sphere ; the twinkling starsof the earth mingling with those of the skyat an horizon lost in the obscurity of night.It was an awe-inspiring spectacle, and inthe silence that they scarcely dared to break,the boys stood watching it side by side.
Suddenly a brilliant light illumined thecar and the lower portion of the Kestrel'sgreat envelope. With a start, Claud andhis brother turned to see that the aeronauthad switched on his electric torch.
" Eleven o'clock ! " said he, turning thewhite ray upon the face of his watch. " Thenight has fallen ! Turn in ! "
Without a word the boys obeyed." Turning in " consisted in making themselves as comfortable as possible on the lidof the circular box . Wrapped warmly inrugs, they found the room sufficient to liedown in, but not to do much rolling about.Never did they feel less inclined for sleep.The novelty of their situation drove allthoughts of it from their minds.
Claud, however, must have been the firstto succumb, for when, after some time hadelapsed, James remarked in a somewhatrambling to ne : " I say, old chap, howmany notes have yo u made in your diary ? "there was no response beyond a purelyguttural one. James did not urge thepoint , for scarcely had the question lefthis lips when he too relapsed into a blissfulunconsciousness.
{To be continued.)
.!>.?»> ^ . f » >
7i\" 7i<r 7*y
" Fale and hearty ? Yes. that I am. Bu tseeing that 1 was brought up on porridffe andthe ' B.O.P.,' that isn't so very wonderful I "
A G L I M P S E O P O U R D O M I N I O N I N T H E
S O U T H E R N S E A S .
By FRED GILES
(World Cycle Tourist),
Author of " A Jaunt Through
Tasmania," etc.
T HE majority of "B .O .P ." readers aretolerably well acquainted with
colonial geography, but few, perhaps,know that New Zealand possesses theweirdest and most disturbed spot in thewhole of the British dominions.
Fortunately for a peace-loving people,the disturbance is not of a political nature,but physical. It has been boldly assertedthat no New Zealander can claim to knowhis country till he has visited Rotorua,the land of ceaseless thermal activity.
These sister isles of the Southern Seashave never suffered at the hands of anapathetic people , for if it were possible fora virtue to become abnormal, I trow thatpatriotism, in the average Maorilander,
could justly be held up by way of example.Who has not heard New Zealand talked" lar ge" by its worthy sons and daughters—ancient and juveni le? Its incomparablecommercial prosperity, its scenic grandeur,its weird natural wonders have all beendilated on in language so profuse andvoluble, that even the most critical listenersecretly longs to view for himself thosefairy isles that stud the Southern Seas.
Sentiment generally loses many pointsin actual test, hence visitors must bequite prepared to meet with slight disappointments here and there. But, havingseen this one feature of his country, weare prepared to let the patriotic one puff
like a steam-engine, blow like a spermwhale, or, if he chooses, erupt like avolcano, without much fear of him overdoing it.
The outside section of the worldthat has merely heard of Rotorua invariably associates it with earthquakes and uncanny volcano outbursts, as being probabilities of any moment, and imagines thata residence in New Zealand's north endwould be a dangerous speculation tovaluers of life. With about a like proportion of actual danger, Australia' s snakesinspire the New Zealander with fear. Ineither case the danger is of the nurserybogey-man type, unsubstantial andshadowy. As a matter of fact, it remainsan open question as to whether Rotorua 'swonders are due to volcanic or chemical
action. Many folk of a scientific turn leanto the latter belief, despite the fact thatRotorua does have earthquakes , as manyas fifty-seven distinct shocks on a singleday tiaving been recorded.
Wonderland, as it is often spoken of, issituated some 170 miles south-east fromthe beautiful northern city of Auckland,from which a reasonably cheap train service takes the traveller, on any week-day,to this far-famed hot-water " spa." Overforty boarding establishments, most of them very large, testify eloquently to thepopularity of this modern Bethesda. Possibly no other tract of country in theSouthern Hemisphere, of the same size,embosoms such a huge rheumatic pain, nor
does any other spot hold out such hopeof its ultimate departure.
The purport of my visit to Rotorua wasto rest briefly, but the activity in the air,and with which the very earth in thisquarter is surcharged, induces effort toassert itself in the human frame, no matterhow taxed the brain or wearied the body.
To use a colonial colloquialism, yousimply have to " get up and ge t." Hereis a country town—village, Englandwould call it, but colonials have highnotions—the terminus of a railway that
Taurau Kukupa Whangare i .
A Maori of To-day.
taps a very sparsely-populated distric t, andyet as busy as a bee-hive. Hundr eds of persons, whose sole business is to look andsee, rush here and there; the female portion of the crowd shelter beneath a regiment of ginghams that make a gaudypicture in lights and shades. More
over, the scene draws from one the con
clusion that the fairy-tales of juvenilityare not all impossible dreams of fancy—this is Wonder land as wonderful as childhood's dreams—Rotorua.
The thermal regions, comprehended in
hot and cold lakes, spouting geysers, boiling mud, mineral waters, and a score of additional marvels, occupy a radius of many miles, of which Rotoru a is the mainstay.
A magnificent sanatorium has beenbuilt, and enclosed in beautified grounds,and here resort all classes of sick andmaimed, to take advantage of the numerous classified mineral baths which thesanatorium affords.
The baths are self-heated, and can betaken at almost any temperature up to107 degrees. The names are as variousas their natures. There are the " Rachel "Bath, the "B l u e " Bath, the " P r i e s t "Bath (patronised chiefly by rheumatic
patients , though it must be rememberedthat Wonderland is a centre of youthfulfrolic as well as a health resort); there arethe " Mud " Bath, the " Duchess " Bath—possessing no extra virtue on account of its royal cognomen, but so-called becauseof being opened and first used by herMajesty, the then Duchess of York. The
" Duchess " is still the dress circle in thistheatre of ablution, for the highest pr iceis charged for its indulgences, thoughreally identical in the nature of its waterswith one of the lesser-priced baths.
The baths impart a remarkable sensationto those that "step into the pools," the" Priest," particularly, almost takingone's breath away. Whil e those bathshave been splashed by many a forlornone who has emptied the purse in Rotoruaonly to die, it is an inspiration to meet,here and there, a flush of health in thosewho draw two graphic pictures of theirhealth state, before and after, and pointenthusiastically to Rotorua's baths as theintermediate cause that separated the con
trasting pictures. The quest for healthhere almost becomes a maddened rush,and in this wise often frustrates its ownpurpose.
The glo ry of the baths, so variouslyclassified, is but on e; the g lory of thegeysers is another; and there are otherglories.
The majority of the famous geysers aresituated in what is known as the Whaka-rewarewa Reserve, which is an enclosureof Nature's demons, who exhibit theirferocity in a score of ways, and seem tohave sounded uncanny and legally prohibited depths in the bowels of the earth.One hears hissing and rumbling, feels theearth hot beneath him, smells the sulphur
ous air, sees a crowd of little black Maorisaround him, and Dante's Inferno is thenearest association that his mind will allowof.
One bright January summer morning
Kerera Geyser, Rotorua, N. Z .
witnessed two fraternising comrades, theArmy's " only " Major Mutton (we'll callhim in recognition of his fondness for thatdelicacy), and the subordinate pen-man and
" B.O.P." gorger, in the vicinity of geyserland, longingly anticipating a good
gush from the netherworld.By the way, the geysers do not con
stantly disport themselves, and peoplehave occasionally turned homewards disappointed, after a vain wait of weeks fora full concert geyser display. One geyseralone never grows weary. Day and night,he gives the anxious inquiring public apassing idea of what a geyser is and what
it can do. The full concert of Rotoru a'sgeysers is only seen at intervals.
After the manner of metal bodies, thegeysers, which number about half-a-dozen, have an indicator. The "Bo il in gCauldron," as it is called, is the mostvituperative-looking water-hole we haveever been privi leged to peer into. Ordinarily, he crouches in a huge silica moundlike a savage lion at bay, ceaseless lyspitting and plunging his boiling watersfrom side to side of his prison-house.At the best of t imes the " Boil ingCauldron " is no example of pat ience andpeace, but, being a creature of moods, hisferocity varies. On the morning that the" only " militaire and the pen-man peered
into his blear, bluish depths, it was necessary to do so at long range, for his surface was particularly troubled , and hotspittings at random made a close curiosityunsafe. It was then we were informedthat the " Boiling Cauldron's " ill-moodportended well for an early geyser displayof no mean order—he is as the gauge-glassof geyserland—otherwise, the indicatoraforesaid.
For an hour or so, in company with mymilitary friend, whose sojourn at Rotoruahad imparted to his countenance thehealthy look of a cattle-salesman whohad been a long time in the sun, I oscillated between tea-rooms, mud-pools, andthe increasingly ominous Cauldron, till, atlast, we were joyfully rewarded with amighty watery outburst.
Every geyser, save Wairoa, gave ventto his pent-up reserves in a prismatic display, which, scintillating in the sunlight,made a gorgeous spectacle. From thegigantic silica mound on which we stood,Pohutu Geyser threw a dense sheet of boiling water to a height of ninety f eet,as if playing to the high heavens; the"Boiling Cauldron," at his foot, hadreached the " grandioso fortiss imo " stagein his performance, and was now pitchinghis angry foam to a score and more f eetaloft; the Prince of Wales's Feather casthis triple-winged silvery spray far intomid-air; the whole, on the rebound, making a mighty natural fall of heated bil
lows over the little cliffs of the Cauldron.Th e display was inset in great clouds of steam. That majestic, though terriblesight lives in my memory, and is a frequent reminder to me of the Almightinessof the Creator, who, nevertheless, is sominutely interested in His creatures thatthe very hairs of their heads are numbered.
Standing in the midst of this speakinggeyser display, one felt like shouting :" Lift up your heads, 0 y e gates : andbe ye lift up ye everlasting do ors, and theKing of Glory shall come in ! Wh o is thisKing of Glory? The Lord, strong andmight y, the Lord mighty in battle. Lif tup your heads. 0 ye gates ; even lif t themup ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in ! " The answer comesrolling do wn, borne on a thousand tongues , joined in martial praise with one's own,including those mighty voices of geyserland.
(To be continued.)
CHAPTER XII.—CRAFTY TACTICS.
n o unexpected had been Thunder-maker's
kj tactics and so immediate the response
of his people, that the attack was over before
the Englishmen were well aware that it
had begun. Not that any foreknowledge
might have availed them much. They were
unarmed, while the Dacotahs were both
armed and numerous. Still, the average
Englishman does not like to be trussed-up
without showing some marked resistance.
It makes him feel small to be trapped without
dealing a blow in self-defence.
The place was brilliantly lit with burning
brands which many of the Indians had
brought, and the camp was in an uproar
with the voluble chatter of the men as
they crowded round the captives, while
Thunder-maker exci tedly cried out his story
of the affair.So well did the medicine-man concoct his
lies so as to work upon the feelings of his
people that, meanwhile, it seemed as though
the Englishmen were in for a hot time.
Indeed, so great was their wrath that knives
were already reflecting the flames, and
fingers were nervously twitching about the
locks of their guns. And all the time
Thunder-maker was dancing about in a
frenzy of passion. He was not brave
enough to strike a blow, but he hoped to
shift the responsibility upon the shoulders
of his brethren.
What would have been the termination
of the scene it is not difficult to decide,
had not the old figure of Swift Arrow then
pushed a way through the seething multitude
and taken a place at Arnold 's side, while he
faced his people with burning indignation.
" What is this, brothers ? " he exclaimed.
" Is this how the Dacotahs treat the stranger
in their tents ? "
" They are witches, not men ! " came
from many throats, and Thunder-maker
added:
" They call me from teepee—call me
without words, and fill Thunder-maker with
hot fire ! "
" Bah ! " ejaculated Swift Arrow with
utter contempt, as he turned to the last
speaker. " Is not Thunder-maker greatmedicine himself ? Has he no weapon to
protect himself from magic ? "
But the medicine-man had his reply ready.
" Thunder-maker sleep. When Thunder-
THE FIERY
TOTEM:
A T A L E O F 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 .
I J > By ARGYLL SAXBY, M.A.,
F.R.G.S.,
Author of " Braves, White and Red" M Call of Honour"
" Comrades Three I" " Toviak," " Tangled Trails"
etc., etc.
maker sleep he have no power against
magic." Then he turned to the surrounding
Indians with a wild appeal. " Shall it be,
brothers, that the great medicine of the
Dacotahs die before arrows of the evil
spirits ? "
" Kawin ! Kawin ! " was the general
reply, and again the knives glistened as they
were raised in many hands.
Thunder-maker shrieked with triumph." Then save our tribe from the magic of
the evil ones ! " he cried as he flung his
arms upwards and turned to the captives
with a fiendish grin of exultation.
The Indians were now worked up to a
condition of irresponsible madness. Another
such impulsion from the medicine-man,
and the thirsty knives would be quenched.
" Stay ! " commanded Arnold suddenly.
So unexpected was the word from that
quarter that for the time curiosity super
seded frenzy and all paused to hear what
the white man might have to say. And
Arnold, seeing the advantage, went on with
a calmness that seemed to act like a spellupon the excited minds . " Stay ! My white
brother and I are not afraid to die if it be
Manito's will that wo find the Happy
Hunting Ground this night, and if the
Dacotahs have so forgotten the brave name
of their tribe that they would slay the
stranger who came to their tents in trouble.
But first tell me : is it the way of the
red men to kill a prisoner without the wish
of their chief "
" Ha ! " interrupted Thunder-maker,
hissing the exclamation through his teeth,
for even now he felt his victims slipping
through his hands. " Do not listen,
brothers ! Th ey are evil spirits—they speak
magic words against which nothing prevails.They have forked tongues that dart as fire.
Ugh ! I spit upon them—dogs ! "
The Englishmen met the verbal onslaught
as firmly as a rock receives a wave, and
Arnold did not so much as look towards
the madman, but resumed in the same even
tones as( before.
" Who are you, red men ? Are you dogs
to be beaten to obey the first loud voices ?
Shall the howling wolf put fear into your
hearts to drag down a prey that he dares not
attack alone ? Or are you children of your
rightful chief ? Who is chief of the Dacotahs
—Thunder-maker or Mighty Hand ? "
" The fiery totem is on the breast of Mighty Hand," answered one of the warriors.
" U excellent billet, and the very place for you, "
said the Secretary of the Labour Bureau for
Unemployed Ghosts. "Genuine mediaeval fromdungeon to bartizan, a turret with a winding stair, and
walls eight feet thick."
" An y inhabitants ? " I asked.w Bless you, it'3 a school and stuffed with boys!
There hasn't been a ghost seen or heard about the
Castle for generations, so they'll appreciate you all the
more. Plenty of stories still current in the place,
however; you may find some of them useful. Capital
story of a magician and black cock, late sixteenth
century. Legend of priest's room concealed in the
kitchen chimney. Body of a murderer, I recollect,
name of Cheesely, buried beneath a hearthstone.
Lots more. Look 'em up for yourself, and the sooner
you get there and set to work the better."
I took his advice and chose a night in December
when the moon would be about full, timing my arrival
carefully for 10 P.M. so as to have a preliminary look
round and be ready to start operations when the clock
in the Castle should strike twelve. To an ultra-
Besthetic and supersensitive spirit the milieu is all-
important and I found my new environment
enchanting. The ancient walls of the battlemented
building stood out clear against the moonlit sky, and,
guided by the sound of cheerful young voices from
within, I found my way to the foot of a narrow
winding stair, where a hound of massive proportions
and sable hue shivered and bristled at my passing.
The boys were in their dormitories but not yet asleep.
Regardless of their doom, my little victims played, one
sweet little fellow in pink pyjamas pirouetting on the
hearthstone,—it might be the very hearthstone
beneath which mouldered the bones of the dastard
Cheesely I
The thought of these young impressionable natures,
virgin-soil so to speak, filled me with pleasurable
anticipation, and I waited eagerly for the time to pass.
Scarcely had the last stroke of midnight sounded
when, from my station in a deep recess within the wall,
I gave utterance to a long and poignant wail, like the
inarticulate cry of a soul in mortal agony that knows
and dreads its doom. Symphon ic in its form— adagio
con dolore— altKante expressivo— presto moltoagitato—
this wail is now widely known and justly celebrated in
the spirit-world as Cheesely in B sharp minor*
In the far corner of the room a head moved restlessly
upon its pillow and a sleepy voice said," Stuff a stocking
in the ventilator, one of you chaps near the door."
. . . The disappointment was only momentary. A
boy is an immature being after all, his artistic and
imaginative faculties are still undeveloped. Something
less subtle perhaps, a little cruder, would appeal
more directly to them—the well-known coup de canon
for example, perhaps the most popular piece of my
repertoire and the exclusive property of my family,
having been patented by one of my ancestors in the
eighteenth century and used with extraordinary effect
by him in a house not many miles distant from this
very spot.*
On this occasion the effect was tremendous. Doorsshook and windows rattled when the ball apparently
struck the floor and rebounded with a noise like
thunder. It woke them. With something like an
uneasy tremor in his voice a small boy asked :4 4 What's that ? "
" It's just Mr. Mountain taking off his boots," said a
young Philistine, with an air of assurance deplorable in
one of his years.
" Wa s it ? " A second time I launched my thunder
bolt above them. Crash succeeded crash. The walls
of the Castle rocked, and mingling with the reverbera
tions could be heard the howls of the madly-frightened
dog down below.
" Seems to have had a pair on each leg," said some
one with a silly sort of giggle, and they laughed.
They laughed. How sharper than a serpent's tooth
it is to have anything to do with a thankless child !
Well, they had brought it on themselves. Their
frozen blood be on their own heads now. They had
ears and they had not heard ; now they should both seeand feel. I am not often driven to the diabolical
expedient of a manifestation, and almost a pang
of pity smote me as, standing where the pale rays of the
moon fell full upon my wan face and shadowy figure—
a sight that many a time and oft has chilled the marrow
fcn the young and raised the hair upon bald heads—I
stretched forth a clammy hand and laid it on the arm
of the nearest sleeper. The muscles of that brawny
arm were strong as amalgamated steel and iron bands.
H e grunted, wriggled a bit, and finally opened a
sleepy eye.
" Brown, you silly ass, let go my arm," he murmured.
Brown indeed I It he had but taken me for a
Tollemache or a Vere de Vere I Gliding to the foot of the bed I dropped my lantern jaw and emitted a blood
curdling series of hollow groans.
" Confound you," he shouted, starting up in bed,
" you don't try any of your rotten tricks on me," and
snatching up the missile nearest to his hand he threw it
with extraordinary force and precision at my head.
I took it at the time to be a heavy boot ; more probably,
however, it was the great Greek dictionary which
nightly lay beneath his pillow and over which he had
been poring until slumber overpowered him.
Spirits are not touched by flying lexicons or other
material weapons, but the wound to my amour-propre
was this time incurable. Never before had I encoun
tered such scepticism, no, not in the Royal Society
itself. Not again should I scatter my pearls before
such ungrateful—pigs 1 Thoroughly disgusted and
annoyed I melted into air, and by cock-crow I was far
from the scene of my humiliation.
Since then, I am happy to say, I have found an
appropriate sphere for my talents in the dilapidated
family-seat of an impoverished Irish peer, among
charming people, theosophists and vegetarians, whose
services I am not likely ever to quit.
• Those who are curious in this matter will findan interesting account of the occurrence referred to inMiss Warrender's " Walks near Edinburgh," where, inher description of Caroline Park, she writes as follows :— " When my aunt, Lady John Scott, lived here, acurious circumstance sometimes occurred. The firsttime she remembered its happening she was sittingalone about eleven o'clock one evening. Suddenlythe window at the end of the room was violently burstopen and a cannon-ball (apparently) bounded in, fallingheavily on the'floor. It rebounded three times, andseemed to come as far as the screen half-way up theroom, and stop there. My aunt rang violently, butwhen the servants came nothing could be seen, thewindow was shut and uninjured, and everything asusual. . . . I remember when we, as children, werespending a fortnight there alone with our German
governess, that she heard the same sound one evening,and was so terrified that she would never sit alone inthat room at night again."
A HA NDY, CABINET.
MANY useful articles can be made out of cigar-boxes.Here is one. Requirements : four boards for framework—top and bot tom, say, 20 in. long, 8J in. wide,uprights (outside), say, 25 in. by 8 in. by J in. thick.Yo u will also want two other uprights, same size, andtwo small shelves, 10 in. long. Before going further it
may be pointed out that you can cheapen your cabinet
Ready for Use.
by making it smaller—say, half these sizes or any otherdimensions—with fewer drawers. The latter, as yousee, are formed by cigar-boxes ; these are of varioussizes, but if you are'following these dimensions closelyyou wi ll need boxes 8in. long, 4 | in. wide, 2$ in. deep.(It is well to get together your boxes first and thendecide how high, etc., your cabinet shall be.) Remo veall paper, using the lids to support the drawers ;after taking T.he lids off the boxes tack them in firmlyand evenly, so that the drawers run smoothly . No w
put all together, and stain and varnish to your owntaste. Picture rings (small size, costing very littl e,)can be used for drawer handles.
A W e l c o m e Visitor to our Battleships.
The above photograph depicts a familiar scene, the visit of a Scripture Reader to a warship in PortsmouthHarbour. These representatives of the Royal N ava l Scripture Readers' Society are always welcomed on boardby the " handy men," who are here seen grouped round one of the forward guns.