Boys' Life 1920-04: Vol 10 Iss 4

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THE BOY ScouTS’ MAGAZINE THE BIGGEST MAGAZINE IN THE WORLD FOR BOYS APRIL 1920 PRICE 20 CENTS Fs Out-of-Doors Adventure Magazine for Boys

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KAYNEE BLOUSES FOR FELLOWS WHO WANT TO DRESS RIGHT WHOOPEE! ‘Days of ‘Real Sport THEYRE here—those rare old, fair old ‘ spring days when a fellow wants to yell and ‘ jump and breathe deep of the wonderful out- door air. And, oh boy, isn’t it great to get into warm weather togs again—to throw off the heavy coat and do a hundred in | twelve flat? I'll say! | Then the more serious spring business—looking over your duds and reminding mother or dad that Kaynees need replenishing. Most good Scouts and other real American lads wear only Kaynee Blouses and Frat Shirts, because 4 —well because they fill the bill in every way. | : mre : : AAS th, NS a Ss oy z al You scouts who haven't one of the Kaynee Scout Laws ™a [eo in Colors; send for it today. Free for the asking —— i ARIS FIPS The KAYNEE COMPANY Cleveland, Ohio viind

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viind The Boy Scouts’ Magazine HY HARLE Y-DA y RECENT TRIUMPHS 200 Mile International Championship Marion, Indiana 200 Mile National Championship Los Angeles, California 100 Mile National Championship Sheepshead Bay, N.Y. 109 Mile Ascot Championship Los Angeles, California 50 Mile Nationa Championship Sheepshead Bay, N. Y. 50 Mile Ascot Championship Los Angeles, California Northwest Championship Portland, Oregon Rocky Mountain Championship Denver, Colorado 500 Kilometer South American Tourist Trophy Race Solo Class, Argentina 500 K ilometer South American Tourist Trophy Race Sidecar Class, Argentina 100 Mile Australian Tourist Trophy Race Senior Class, Goulburn, Australia, New York Chicago Road Record 1012 Siles in 21 hrs. 24 min. Canada co Mexico Road Record 1715 Miles in 51 hrs. 22 min. WORLD’S RECORDS 1 Kilometer, Solo, 19.98 seconds 1 Kilometer, Sidecar, 25.71 seconds 1 Mile, Solo, 32.45 seconds 1 Mile, Sidecar, 41.16 seconds 2 Miles, Solo, 1 min. 5.82 seconds 2 Miles, Sidecar, 1 min. 22.45 seconds 5 Miles, Solo, 2 min. 6.88 seconds 5 Miles, Sidecar, 3 min. 25.65 seconds ! | | | i The Wonderful Do you know that this little motor develops 16 actual H.P.—more for its size by one- third than most good automobile motors develop? Do you know that the machine work throughout the Harley-Davidson motor is far more accurate than in the very costliest automobile built? For 18 years the Harley-Davidson engi- neers have been working constantly to produce the very finest motorcycle motor possible. That they have accomplished their aim is proven by the fact that today the Harley-Davidson is the most popular motorcycle in the world. It is the most popular because the most substantially built, the most efficient and dependable. The Harley-Davidson has won every long Harley-Davidson Motor distance race held in America during the past year, and that it was the only make to finish with perfect scores in both solo and sidecar classes in the Naticnal Endur- ance Contest. Harley-Davidsons win because they are the best designed and best built motor- cycles in the world. The next time you see a Harley-Davidsen whirling along a boulevard, or plugging its way through a long stretch of mud or sand, perhaps with a well loaded sidecar attached, just notice how smoothly and efficiently it does its work—and then make up your mind that your motorcycle will be a ‘‘World’s Champion”’ too! Ask your Harley-Davidson dealer about his easy payment plan. HARLEY-DAVIDSON Motor COMPANY MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN = GAP — MUI Javidls ‘Worlds Charmptior” UU TO)

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April, 1920 The Jamboree LANS for the International Scout Jamboree to be held July 30 to August 7 in London, England, are going forward as speedily as may be, considering the elaborate amount of preparation necessary to of make the representation of the Boy Scouts America to this biggest Scoutcraft event in Scout history adequate and Full details will be pub- forthcoming of leaders be informed of our plans as soon as satis- factory. lished in ScoutTiINne, issue will ind your they develop definitely. Tentative Plan for Selection of Scout Representatives BOY HNUUIVLLUVULUVLUERUDLLULUOLUADUSAR URNA oe OE Frontispiece—The Grand Canyon ort > LIFE MAGAZINE THE BIGGEST MAGAZINE IN THE WORLD FOR BOYS THE BOY SCOUTS’ IVINS Im the Family above conditions shall have the privilege of naming one of its scouts to be sent as the representative of the local council, subject to the approval of the council. Remington Schuyler Text by Stewart Edward White The matter of selecting the Boy *““What Wizardry There Is in the Camp Fire”........... Arthur F. Rice . : os NEO “Fhe Liéghts of Meme.” Bese ec cccccccscccccccceseccces E, acon Scouts of America who shall = Illustrations by Harold Andersen sent us at this great international “Camping the Buckskin Way ”............00.- Frederick K. Vreeland ‘Ol -onference j iffic » Decoration by Leslie Crump =i om i —_ - — is = citi ult a : ” “ Packing the Buckskin Way’’............. adeene .+...Belmore Brown adjust with fairness and satisfaction Decoration by Leslie Crump ** Silverhorns.” Story. (By permission Charles Scribner’s Sons) The following plan has been to all. suggested. This plan as will be per- ceived is based solely on scout merit. “At the Top of the World” Henry Van Dyke Illustrations by Remington Schuyler Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary , NA * When th nexpected Is Expected.”” Story.........Brewer Corcoran We want only our best scouts to rep- SA e Unexpe pS lar vam by G. Sreetiee. ass er C resent us on this important occasion. . I | SO i'n oc ce dannanatesccncetsesksevdeaes .....James E. West > * Roy Blakely’s Camp - Wheels.” cage eeeows : .Percy K. Fitzhugh . ustrations by Bert N, Saly ego d » arg ye ree ere “Bon Ganstists Gre WePiccdccccicvcsusecscenes Edward Leonard 1. In the selection of representa- lilustrations by Remington Schuyler tives the troop shall be the unit and Sas Fi Ge Va i hs ee one cad ch oede deed desesesaes G. G. L. in every case the local council shall , me Illustrated by Judy Collins : . 5 Trout Fishing for Boys ”......... ttctvhbbekwewwe Ernest W. Brockway be locally the sole judge as to the “ Jack’s Bandit.” Story......... Aiki beet wet tbe Cee Ed. L. Carson final selection. Illustrated by Joseph Easley o The ; . vr : ** Jonesy’s Cabrita.” Story...... En ee ee Edward Cole 2. € troop from which the es Illustrated by Douglas Duer scout representing a local council 7 “The Cave of the Golden Dragons.”® Part II.......... .«.Lynn Gunnison hall be selected. shall he determined Jilustrated by S, Gordon Smyth one ealeanine ed, sna ve Cetermine *Fimn Teen, Awa The occ ccs cecdcccecsoves J. Allan Dunn in proportion to Scouting progress Illustrated by Remington Schuyler shown up to June Ist, 1920. This “ Curly of the Ciccle Bar.” Goerial......ccceccoessccesss Joseph B. Ames P Illustrated by Enos B. Comstock progress shall be considered upon Photegraphic Comtest ..cccccccsecesscsce Laseadiceeebdenubaacad nian Camping Incident in the Rockies ”.........ccceceseseses Dan Beard “A the following grounds: a. Progress in passing tests of the first three grades and in meet- ing life, star and eagle scout re- quirements, and additional merit badges. b. Intensive activity in and individual Good Turns general scout-like spirit in con- duct. c. Excellence of as Civie and appearance a troop, proper use of official uniform, equipment, etc., WOODROW WITSON neatness, general Honorary President ‘Suid : . WILLIAM H. TAFT good form based Honorary Vice-President upon thorough of- DANIEL CARTER BEARD a 3 ; ap Honorary Vice-President ficial inspection, COLIN H. LIVINGSTONE as well as atten- President ¥ : GEORGE D. PRATT dance at troo Pp Treasurer JAMES E. WEST Chief Scout Executive Editorial Board WILLIAM D. MURRAY HENRY VAN DYKE FRANK PRESBREY DANIEL CARTER BEARD DS. meetings and par- ticipation in civic activities. 3. The troop selected by the local council as most suit- Scouting Section: ak... 2 ie Weer rrr ‘ ...-Scout Albert Klaner “When You Grow Up—Agriculturiat? ”... .ccccccccccccccccccscses Short Story Cor.test—** Jim of the Labrador’”’...... Seats sitter aaa eG "(I a, 0 odd ware bay heen s weet eucoea F. A. Collins GD Cll GONE eo cctecacantaece coeeseeae “Spark Gap” “Think and Grin’’....... OE LOE RTT eee Te ee re 4 ee. Ge BOE NO cin kde edccntcesiceein The Cave Scout 47 Published Monthly by the Boy Scouts of America, 200 Figth Ave., New York City. $2.00 a year 20 cents a copy - WW WW Copyright, 1919, by the Boy Scouts of America. Entered as second class matter July 19th, 1912, at the Post Office at New York, Y., under the act of March 3rd, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate postage provided for in Section 1103, act of October 3rd, 1917, June 3th, 1918. RENEWALS If your magazine comes with a renewal order blank enclosed it means your subscription has expired. Tear off the address on the magazine wrapper and send it with $2.00, the price of a renewal subscription, to Boys’ Life, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City, so you will not have to miss a copy. Postage is prepaid to all parts of the United States and possessions, and also Mexico and Cuba. Canadian postage is 25c. and foreign postage 50c. a year INULIN TTT BOYS’ LIFE sd ao SS wha Z ra a es uae Vol. X, No. 4 TNR 4. The scout selected must meet the following require- ments: a. He must be a first class scout. b. He must have the written permission of his parents to serve as a delegate to the Jamboree, which permission shall relieve the organization of responsibility in case of illness or accident. c. He must pass a satisfactory physical examination and show a physician’s certificate of health. good 5. The expenses of the scout rep- resentative must be paid by the local council which he represents. 6. Preparation for participation 5 in displays, demonstrations and 6 other events at the Jamboree will ‘ take place prior to leaving New York, and all delegates selected must 9 agree to spend at least ten days be- fore sailing in such preparation as 10 directed by the National Council. 12 Scouts Not Under Council a The arrangement above suggested 15 does not cover troops not under 16 council. In order to do full justice ; 18 . in this matter it has been decided to hold until June first fifty places for 20 scouts of independent troops, making 2 application for same and being able 21 to guarantee that expenses and other 22 conditions will be met. One scout will be selected in this way from as each state and territory. In this 26 case it seems the only fair method of 08 selection will be a competitive exami- ; i nation submitted by the National 30 JA Council. If these fifty places are not i si filled by June first, the balance will : 34 be filled by Local Councils, making 4 | their selection from those troops or § scouts who won second place in the ; original selection. In general, appli- cations will be considered in order of : their reception at National Council. § Where Is Olympia? Olympia in this case is a large ff glass-domed build- 7} ing situated at West Kensington, London, reached by trains, electric railways and the famous London buses. But though Olympia happens to be roofed cver, the Editorial Staff FRANKLIN K.MATHIEWS DAN BEARD IRVING CRUMP E. O'CONNOR W. A. PERRY FR ANE J} RIGNEY Jamboree to be a Business Director distinctly outdoor FREDERIC L. COLVER Advertising Manager P. W. WILLSON Western Advertising Manager JOHN D. EMRICH Circulation Manager GEO. G. LIVERMORE affair. Sir Robert §& Baden Powell is pat- ticularly anxious that everybody shall realize that Scouting is an open-air moves | C2. ment. LS ! ably meeting the =e witna

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rE nts ion of ory ya ood ep- eal ion ind vill ew ust be- as ted der hice j | to for ing ble her out om his of mi- nal not Pi vill ing or 4 the pli- of ci, =f + rge ild- J ‘est on, ins, ind jon igh to the ea oor ert ‘ ar- us wall ing vee | XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine Ww a HEN my father bought me \ \ my new Winchester repeater, he said it was because I had joined the Winchester Junior Rifle Corps. But it really wasn’t the fine medals that you can win in the W. J. R. C. that interested him. What he liked most of all was the rules. The W. J. R. C. won’t let you shoot for a medal unless you handle your rifle right and take proper care of it. Of course, I wanted a medal, so I learned the Rules of Rifle Safety right away. The distance you shoot in theW. J. R. C. is fifty feet. Five shots are fired at each target, when trying for a medal. If all five hit the bull’s-eye, it counts 25. If they scatter, some shots count 4, 8, 2, or maybe nothing. It certainly is easy to scatter them! Ten targets each counting 19 points or more win a W. J. R. C. Marksman Medal and Diploma. It took me just three Saturdays to win mine, and I used only three boxes of cartridges. Mr. Bradley, our instructor, says I have succeeded because I have followed the rules and done what he has told me to. But I also give a lot of credit to the fine accuracy of my Winchester repeater. HOW I WON MY W.J.R.C. MARKSMAN MEDAL You don’t really need a repeater. The rules just say you must use a .22 caliber Winchester. Lots of boys have the little single-shot kinds that cost very little. And Mr. Bradley says the steel in all Winchester barrels is the same quality and they are all bored the same way. He also says that many of the most expert small-bore marksmen in the world use exactly the same Winchester car- tridges we do. Next stop for me is Sharpshooter! The only W. J. R. C. Sharpshooter Medal in town that I know about °s on exhibition down at our leading hardware store. I don’t think it is going to leave there very soon. But whoever else wants it had better watch out for me and my Winchester repeater. oo &> Let’s go, boys! Each of you, hike down to the hardware or sporting-goods store in your community where they sell Winchester 22 caliber Rifles and Ammunition. Buy a rifle of you need one, and some ammuni- tion; register your name as a member of ‘the W. J. R. C., and ask for some targets and an wnsiruction book. Then try your hand at winning a medal. Right away. If you need more information, write at once to us. WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. -*+ NEW HAVEN, CONN., U.S.A. The Winchester Model 06 .22 Caliber Repeating Rifle

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The Grand Canyon of the Colorado California John is an individual more or less travelled. He has been to various place$ ***Son’, said he, ‘the gold light of evening on these mountains is a mighty fine thing of which perhaps you have never heard; such as Honey Lake, and Hoopa Valley, and the —_ but if you don't believe all I've been sayin’ you ought to see the Canyon at sunset. country of the Siskiyou. The single thing that impressed him most was the Grand Canyon. “6p 4° said I “That place,” said he to us one day, “is self-actin’> All this,” he waved his hand abroad, si Sencbe marten . , saan bal ‘has to betaken care of or it gets ruined by somebody. That's what we rangers are tryin’ You remember how she changes, then, slow and solemn, like the shift of os ; todo. But the Grand Canyon takes care of herself.” He slid from his saddle and squatted theatre. Only there aint no hurry about it. He don't care whether -: as [0 collet on his heels as was invariably his habit when really earnest talk was forward. “My idee is tain, or it's gettin’ chilly out there on the Rim, or dinner is ready. And o hk a about like this,” said he. “I believe the Lord made that place just for Himself. All the how the peaks come out from the other Canyon wall, and draw back nyo ye aa i" rest of the earth He gave to mankind. ‘Go to it,’ says He. ‘Do what you want. Go the {t's just as if they was answering roll-call. And all the colors in oy ole bail limit. Cut down the trees, and dam up the rivers, and: paint advertising signs on and over answer roll-call too, and wait a minute, and then melt back wr? -_ o* good of everythin’ you can stick a brush to. I ain't in favor of these proceedings; but it’s up to Him a fine place; and He s fixed it so we can't never bother it. I think it's mighty you.’ And I reckon we've done it—Injins, buffalo, pine woods, Niagara Falls—all the Him to let us come and look at it. rest of it. But the Grand Canyon the Lord made for Himself. From ‘'The Cabin’"—By Stewart Kd. White. Courtesy of Author and Pablisher, Doubleday. Page & Co.

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IFE ing na ha lect e? | fo ill of CUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine sWinat Wizardry is im the Ca ALF a year of reminiscence, half a year of an- ticipation, and at last we stand again in the door of the forest camp and look about us to see what changes these months have wrought in the familiar surroundings. The hand of time has touched things here so lightly that the year, whose toil and wear and worry, which may have left its scars on us, has made little impression on this wild spot. Perched on the hillside above the lake, protected by the outstretched arms of giant spruces and brooded over by the good spirits of the woods, the little camp of logs and bark has safely athered the Northern winter, and, in a mute and placid way, welcomes us back to its hospitality. The midday sun sifts down its golden tribute, the sum- mer breeze sends in its fragrant offering, and from the tree-tops comes the soft, sweet tune which for a thousand vears old Aeolus has been singing to his woodland friends. There is exultation in the thought that these delightful sounds and sights and scents are ours! that here we may sojourn for a space and that the time shall not be scored up against us. Nature collects all her debts, it is true; but she also gives gifts, and the hours which her devotees spend in the woods are not charged in the’ account she we renders. A closer inspection reveals the fact that the camp has not been without visitors during our long absence. The axe handle shows the chisel-like marks of rodent incisors. Was it out of pure deviltry that the hedge-hog sharpened his teeth thereon? Or did the faint scent of human touch lead him to think that there might be marrow inside this hickory helve? A hole through the bark roof, just above the cross-beams, shows that the mice or squirrels have gnawed through with remarkable accuracy to the spot where some edible package had been hung and which, per- chance, proved a godsend to help them through a hard winter. Just outside the camp, evidently where some salt had been thrown, is a hole dug by the sharp hoofs and rough tongues of the deer as they mined and licked up the precious saline particles, and the number and freshness of the tracks in the soft black earth indicate that we may expect nocturnal visitors. An empty phoebe’s nest under the roof of the porch tells us that a part of the camp has really been occupied, and although the tenants have gone without paying their rent, we wish them well and hope they will accept our hospitality again next year. But all the guests have not departed: for the ruddy camp squirrel jerks his way down a big hemlock, scolding or snickering— we never know which—at the intruders upon his privacy: and that delightful camp robber, the Canadian jay, drops, light as a thistle down, from nowhere to partake of our bounty, apparently knowing that he is among friends and that his summer livelihood is assured. On the hardwood ridge above the camp the crows are holding noisy carni- val, and the rattle of the kingfisher on the lake shore in- forms us that the fishing there is still good. We wel- come and are received by these and other forest friends as though it had all been prearranged, and proceed to re- new and better our acquaintance. |‘ breaking camp is an unwelcome task, putting one in shape for occupancy is indeed pleasant work. The old “browse” of last year is pulled from the bunks and re- placed with a two-foot layer of balsam tips, the labor involved in getting a generous supply being amply repaid in solid comfort by day and dreamless sleep at night. New stakes are driven by the fireplace to hold up the back logs and a big yellow birch is felled to furnish the piece de resistance for the camp-fire. The bark roof is carefully inspected for leaks, the moss-rimmed spring is cleared of its accumulation of leaves, the pack-baskets are unloaded and their contents stowed in the proper places. In a half day’s time we are ready to begin housekeeping in a camp that. cost but a trifle to build and which prom- ises us more jey than any palace on earth. The most enthusiastic fisherman of the party is already fondling his fly-book and tenderly inspecting its feathered gems, the collection of which has afforded him his chief solace during the previous winter. By some occult system of reasoning he has figured it out that the combination of a Montreal, a Brown Hackle and a Professor will be irre- sistible, and looping them to his leader, starts out with such a look of beatitude on his face as a man might wear who has suddenly found himself in Paradise with a stop- over check in his hand. This look has become ripened and intensified when he comes in before dusk with a dozen crimson-bellied beauties, and it spreads and communicates itself to the entire party when these evidences of his skill, rolled in Indian meal and fried in butter, reach the equa- torial regions of his camp mates. Truly they are “ too g00d for any but fishermen or very honest men.” A meal camp is always an important event and the first one By Arthur F. Rice Secretary of the Camp Fire Club of America especially so. Everything conspires to put a keen edge on the appetite. The hunger-compelling scent of the pines and balsams and the tantalizing odor of steaming coffee and frying fish, after a long tramp over a rough trail, give one such a rage for food as is never experienced at home. How well good old Walt Whitman describes it all: “The natural life in the woods, the strong day’s work, The blazing fire at night, the sweet taste of supper, the talk and The bed of hemlock boughs.” Ah, those evenings around the camp-fire, lying on the blankets or good old mother earth, the surrounding gloom lending a charming privacy to the little space lighted up by the blazing logs. What wizardry is in the camp-fire! before whose genial glow our cares are dissipated as the sparks fly up and disappear into the night. There is a love of the primitive, a trace of old savagery in most of us, and the camp-fire somehow answers and satisfies our instinctive longing to get back to simple and original ways of living. The voices of the night are about us: a big owl hoots on the mountainside and is answered by a score of others: from the marsh a night heron utters his raucous note: and from the vault of heaven there comes down “a mingled sound of horns and bells” as the wild fowl pass over on their annual pilgrimage. There are tiny squeaks and gibberings and a small rustle of leaves as the little forest folk go about in their hunt- ing or their play: or perchance the gasping bark of a fox breaks the silence. Very weird and enthralling are these evenings in the deep forest. ORNING in the mountains! A time which has its own peculiar charms, and a place where by contrast they may be most enjoyed. Instead of the steam-whistle—the call of the kingfisher; instead of the carpenter’s hammer— the tapping of the woodpecker on a dead hemlock; instead of the rumble of traffic on granite streets—the whimper of the forest brook over its pebbly bed; instead of an at- mosphere of dust and smoke—the exhilarating ether of the forest. The balsam bed is sweet, but the air outside is sweeter still and it does one good to drink it, to bathe in it and to flood his system with it, while his mental ma- chinery runs down and cools off. The camp squirrel is awake, sitting on a limb and embroidering the edge of a piece of flapjack which he holds in his paws, and the nut- SLUR UUM LAU UMMM MAUI Im The Open By Lindsay Gordon Lucas Oh -ome, let us camp in the open, On the marge of some deep wooded isle, Where care and convention are banished And all the great world seems to smile, Where the wild fowl wheel swiftly above us And the furtive mink steals to the shore. We'll drink in the secrets of nature And grow wise in her wonderful lore. Oh, the raven will wake us at daybreak . With his harsh and his far-reaching call, And the waters will lull us at evening, When the shadows have crept over all. How we'll thrive mid the vigorous action And bronze neath the warm summer's sun! To the mainland we'll swim every morning. When a new sparkling day has begun. Then we'll troll down the shadowy lake-shore To fish for the musky and pike. What a thrilling sensation leaps thru one, At the rush of the game-fish’s strike! Oh, we'll plunder the nest of the turtle And bake luscious clams in the sand To garner our bounteous breakfast From the fullness of nature’s great hand. And now let us range thru the woodland, To angle for trout and for bass. Then what comfort to loiter at noonday, Stretched at length on the velvety grass! Then it’s back to the camp-fire at sundown, To bask in the embers’ red glare, To sing our contentment and freedom And mingle in rollicking air. Ho hum! Let us take to our blankets. By ginger, how drowsy I feel! I’m sure I shall sleep like a savage And be up with the bugle’s first peal. HUAN wn np Fire” hatches with many a soft cluck wend their spiral way up and down the birches. Shall we go down to the lake and see the sun—and the trout—rise? The water lies like a black mirror, save where the level border of lily pads covers it, and a thin white mist rises from it into ‘the cooler air. There are other early risers besides ourselves. A big fish-hawk mounts from his sentinel rock and flaps lazily away over the forest; a flock of ducks get up with a great clatter and, after taking a turn or two to get their bearings, set out on their journey to some other quiet bit of water which they know of by instinct or experience. On the bluff above the lake two or three grouse leave their roost in the spruces, and the persistent screaming of several bluejays in the swamp near the inlet suggest that a deer is probably working back to the mountains. The rosy fingers of the morning touch the pond lilies and receive their offering of incense, and the sun shoots his javelins over the eastern mountains, piercing the shadows of thicket and glen. It does not seem altogether right that there should be so few of us to enjoy the things which are happening in this wild and beautiful place; but a swirl in the water near the lily pads sends our thoughts flying in another direction, and casting our flies there, a half-pound trout is our quick reward. Soon other beautiful fish, wearing colors as vivid as an Italian sunset, come into the boat until we have exactly enough for breakfast, and before the last one has been out of the water thirty minutes they are sizzling in the pan. What wonder that men dream of such things all winter and are ready to go hundreds of miles for even one such experience! OUR real camper is generally a hospitable chap, and one seldom gets so far into the wilderness but that he may have a guest or two sometimes; a hunter or fisher- man who has lost his bearings, a timber cruiser or guide who has overstayed the daylight hours, or the chance traveler who has been attracted by the smoke of the fire or the sounds of camp life; and these occasional sojourn- ers should be, and usually are, made welcome and invited to enjoy the bough beds and forest fare. There is a sort of ethics in these matters which should always be observed and there ought to be a code governing them that is gen- erally accepted. We can all do something toward estab- lishing such a code—by putting up in our camps a few simple rules which all may read, especially visitors who happen to come to camp when its occupants are all away for the day, “Help yourself to food, but wash the dishes.’ “Do not injure or disturb the birds, squirrels or other creatures here; they are our guests.” “This is not a shooting gallery. Use no fire-arms around this camp.” “ No profanity—no vulgarity—in this camp.” “Put out the fire when you are through cooking.” a | Gerry miles by the East trail to ...... ; and ee miles to ...... by the West trail.” “ Make yourself at home until our return,” ete. In a very wild and remote country the necessity for rigid rules is greater than in a more frequented territory. for there life itself may depend upon their observance. As in some parts of the far West horse stealing is con- sidered as serious a crime as murder—because without his horse a man might perish—so in the far North taking any- thing from a cache—where trappers and others have stored food, etc.—often in plain sight in the trees where the wild animals cannot get them—is a heinous offence, because the very existence of the man who cached the stuff may depend on his finding it when he returns. In certain parts of the country men never kill a hedgehog, because it is the one animal that an unarmed and possibly starving man can overtake and kill for food. Simple rules cover- ing the danger of fires—the use of food, danger signals, directions if lost, and the like, should be plainly posted in every wilderness camp, and ultimately those who fre- quent the great out-of-door country will come to recog- nize them as proper and salutary. And now that breakfast is over and the camp set in order—all the waste and scraps having been burned, the fire extinguished and wood cut and stored where it will be dry, we are free to wander over the trails, or where there are none, to see what interesting things the forest has in store for us. It requires sharp eyes to see and interpret the things we shall find, and good ears to locate and understand the sounds we shall hear: but a knowledge of them constitutes one of the greatest pleasures we can enjoy. See, here in this spruce swamp, where the tips of the low branches and of the witch-hopple and other bushes have been nipped off, It tells us that in this secluded spot, protected from the wind by the heavy evergreen growth, (Concluded on page 49) ’

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6 Lights of ILLVILLE’S circus, sensation, the for its was very annual packing up -_ trip to the next town. It late at night, a long, long time after Millville’s hour for going to bed. was On the circus grounds flaring torches illumined a melancholy wreckage scene of the big tent gone, piles and there, the earth wonders had been shown deserted blemish in the field, the menagerie wagons closed tight, with only the elephants still on view the dark. the lemonade venders, there scattered where of seats here so many dismal, ring now ony a looming huge and mysterious in Instead of the stirring music of the band and “barkers,” peanut was the rumble of heavy wheels and the shouts of the working gangs. To the Millville boys that had dared to stay out until that hour it a depressing, heart-rending sight. A magician had waved his wand, and the fairyiand he had created was fading away like awakening from a fascinating dream, one of those dreams raucous voices of side-show and was before their eves. It was where the pirate treasure has just been discovered when a knock on the door brings everything to a cheerless end in a cold, gray dawn of reality. at a funeral, they However, like mourners the bitter end; but now and then as the night wore on one after another would be his meant to hang on to shaken in determination and would turn sadly away toward town that clustered about the spectral, white wooden steeple of the Methodist church. By the time under way only the dark, sleeping, tree-embowered last two boys remained on the scene. were typical small-town boys of that the wagon caravan was at getting They time, sturdy and red-cheeked, dressed in ill-fitting, home-made clothes and heavy leather boots with copper toes. Copper-toed boots were the prevailing fashion among boys in those econom- ‘al days, when mothers gave thought to the saving of leather. W HEN he saw the wagons begin to move, Tom La- baree’s heart sank even lower than it had been. \ whole dreary year would pass before the circus would come back. “Oh, gee!” he exclaimed. “Oh, gee! 1 wish I could go with a show.” E “Me, too,’ echoed his chum, Peter Trimble. “ Be great, wouldn't it, seein’ the animals every day and knowin’ all the performers. If I had a business head on my shoulders like you got, ‘Tom, I'd make a break for it. You'd along all right. You're the sharpest feller in town. You could always make money twice as fast as me.” \ tall, before them get stoop-shouldered out of the man appeared suddenly dark, and proceeded to study them with sharp, shrewd eyes. He was the wagon boss, and he was short-handed just then, as some of his men had quit without notice the day before. “T heard what you boys was talkin’ about just now,” he said, “and I dunno but there might be a chance fer you with this here show if you want to come along. We got lots o’ jobs you could tend to.” The boys stared at him bewildered, not knowing what to say, but their hearts were beating wildly. “You it?” Tom at last. The wagon boss chewed a toothpick while he considered. “Yep,” he concluded. “You can come. Tl find work for you.” “When?” asked Tom. “Right now. Don’t expect this show to wait for you, do you? I lit out with a show myself when I was a kid, and I didn't stop to say goodbye to my folks, either. I'd have felt a rawhide across my back out in the woodshed if I had. No use sayin’ goodbye if you want to come.” mean Labaree cried OM looked at Peter, and Peter looked at Tom. They both felt that a great crisis in their lives had come, and they needed mutual support. “Whatll it Pete?” demanded ” be, Tom, “Are we goin ? “If you go I'll go,” returned Peter, turning his back on the town so that the sight of it would not interfere with his resolution. “ All right,” said Tom, squaring his shoulders and gulp- ing down his fears. “Get aboard!” shouted the wagon boss. They climbed up with him to the high seat of one of the animal wagons, and rolled away on the road into the unknown world that lay beyond Miliville’s hori- zon, As the slow-moving caravan came to the top of a hill, which in a mo- ment would shut out the last view of the town, both boys looked back. On the rim of the dark Millville lay they saw their homes, and in a window of each littie house a light was twinkling and beckoning after them. A half-choked sob came from Peter Trimble. “My mothers back there sitting up for me,” he mut- tered. There were tears in his eyes, and he wiped them away with his sleeve. “My mother’s sitting up for me, too,” Tom Labaree hollow where said. “If I went back now she’d take a slipper to me, sure—and I guess your’s would do the same to you.” “T'm going, back!” cried Peter Trimble as he started up from the seat. “Let me down! I’m going back!” “Oh, well, if you feel that way about it, all right, go ahead,” said the wagon boss, and, turning to Tom Labaree, he added, * How about you, son?” Tom chum clamber from the the dark Then he turned his face to the wagon boss, who grinned as he saw the boy's look of grim determination. “Tm not going back,” said Tom Labaree. “Git ap!” cried the wagon boss. his wagon and disappear down Labaree watched road. The horses broke into a trot, and, as the wagon went rumbling over the crest of the hil!, the two remaining lights of Millville dropped out of sight. NDER a big circus tent Tillie Fay, “champion lady bareback rider,” poised on one foot on the back of a cantering white horse, was circling round and round the ring to the music of the band. Now and then she gave her hands to the crowded tiers of seats in acknowledgment of the applause that warded the somersaults she had been turning flaming hoops. Tillie Fay always had the crowds with her. She was daring, reckless, as nimble as a cat, a young “comer” with a big future. She knew her act was too good for a a beaming smile and kissed re- through BOYS’ LIFE By E. L. Bacon Illustrated by Harold Anderson small-town show and that it was only a question of time when would graduate into greater opportunities. Pleasing “hick” audiences was too easy—easy for her. But it was not se easy for the fat clown who ran puffing and blowing behind the white horse shouting to it to stop. He found his efforts unappreciated. He had worked him- self red in the face without raising a laugh, except from a few very small children and a few simple-minded folk who always laugh at a clown whether he is funny or not. All his stock jokes he had tried, all his old tricks of tripping headlong over ropes or bumping into the ring- master, and he had sung songs that he had been able to count on once as sure hits, but that now fell flat. It was all “old stuff,” even for “hick” towns. He was way out of date, this fat clown. While little Tillie Fay had a bright future in store for her, he had only a past. There had been a time when he was a star attraction in three- ring shows touring only the big cities. chance of that now. his “ punch.” she But there was no He was getting old, and had lost From the topmost tier of seats a voice roared down: “ You're all to the good, Tillie! But, oh! can that clown!” VEN after the act was over and the crowd had forgot- ten him the words kept ringing in the clown’s ears as he sat, tired and sulky, in the dressing-tent. “So this is Millville!” he muttered to himself with a snarl. “Huh! A lot o’ rubes! Whaddo I care!” He had changed from his ring costume to the clothes of every-day life and had washed the paint from his face. Now he looked his years—a gray-haired, heavy-jowled, pot-bellied man, who had not found it necessary to pad himself into fatness, as other clowns did, in making up for his performance. His fourteen-year-old son came into the tent looking as gloomy as his father. * Pop, I wish I could get out of this show life,” said the boy, “and be like other kids. What chance have I got bumming round the country with a circus?” “.Most kids are crazy to get into a circus,’ his father, “instead of trying to get out of one.” ’ returned “That's because it’s something new to ‘em,” replied the boy. “If they’d been with one as long as I have they wouldnt think that way. You ought to know, pop. You ran away to join a show when you were my age, and now you wish you hadn’t. That crowd out there came pretty near mobbing you to-day.’ A bitter look came into the clown’s round face. For a few moments he sat in moody silence, his thoughts tray- eling far back into the past. “You're right, Mark,” he said at last. I've wished that a thousand times. “T wish I hadn't. And you can bet that whenever I find a kid trying to beat it away from home to go with a circus I tell him a few things that make him think again.” A scratching sound came from just outside the tent. A town boy was trying to worm his way under the canvas wall. He had tried to do the same thing at the main tent and had been pulled back by the legs just as he caught his first and only glimpse of the performance. Now he had managed to get his arms and the top of his head under the canvas, and he was reaching out for something firm to get hold of that he might pull himself inside. His hands found the ankles of Mark and fast to them. He did not know what he was gripping, but he pulled hard, and Mark, with a yell, toppled over and came sprawling down on the town boy’s head and shoulders. young made XUM

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it. id ip XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine Mr. Trimble’s first impulse had been to rush in and “Say! What you tryin’ to do?” angrily, driving his fist into the unwelcome visitor’s face. Promptly the town boy retaliated with a hard swing to cried the circus boy the nose. I EFORE another blow could be struck the clown had hurried over from his chair and pulled the fighters apart. “That'll be about enough of that,” he remonstrated mildly. *“Temme throw him out!” roared Mark. “Oh, no,” said the clown. “ He’s in now; let him stay. What's the matter, kid? Didn’t you have a ticket?” “Nope,” the town boy answered sulkily. The clown looked him over sharply. “Pretty good clothes you’re wearing,” he “You don’t look as if you came from poor folks. How comes it you couldn't raise the price of a ticket?” “My dad sees to it that I don’t have a cent when a circus comes to town,” replied the boy. “Huh!” grutted the clown. “ Your dad, I spose, don’t believe in boys havin’ a good time.” observed. You're a good guesser,’ returned the boy. “ He’s dead set against circuses.” “What's your name?” the clown inquired by way of making conversation. © Peter Trimble.” “What! Say that again.” “Peter Trimble.” “Well, T'll be derned!” gasped the clown, dropping into his chair with a thud. For a full minute the clown) sat head and staring at the boy. At last he asked, “ Peter Trimble, junior, ain’t it?” “Yeah; that’s it. How'd you guess that?” “Well, I saw your dad’s name over a big wagon factory scratching — his to-day.” “Sure; that’s his. So’s the bank. So’s the lumber yard.” “You don’t say! That dad of yours seems to be quite «i prosperous old geezer. But he’s dead set against cir- cuses—ha, ha! He must have changed since he was a hoy.” ge ngn TRIMBLE, junior’s, gaze was wandering about the tent. His eyes fell on the clown’s costume, which had been left on top of a trunk. A startled expression came into his face on making this discovery. demand an explanation from all concerned, but the face of Bill caught his attention and held him spellbound. “Say!” he cried. “ Are you the clown?’ The fat man nodded. “Gee!” exclaimed Peter Trimble, junior. “Gee! I never thought Id get a chance to talk to a real clown. Say, when my brother Bill hears about this he'll pretty near have a fit. He’s never seen a clown in his life. Couldn’t if he wanted to. Somethin’ happened to his back once, and he can’t walk.” “He can’t walk?” echoed the clown, his eyes full of sympathy. “ That’s pretty tough, ain't it?” He sat silent for a few moments, wrinkling his fore- head and evidently thinking hard. Then the wrinkles smoothed out, and, grinning broadly, he said to Peter Trimble, junior: “Tl tell you what, sonny. Tl hang over in this burg tomorrow morning, and, if you'll take me to your home, I'll. get into my costume and give brother Bill his chance to see a real live clown.” The boy’s eyes opened wide. “By golly!” he cried. “Do you mean it?” * Sure I mean it.” “Well, you can bet Tl fix it all right,” the boy assured him. ‘“ Won’t be any trouble about gettin’ mother to stand for it, and dad‘ll be away at the works. Say, you won't forget, will you?” “My word’s good, sonny. I won’t forget. Here, Mark; take the kid out and show him the side-show and the animals. That ll be better than givin’ him the wallop in the jaw you’ve been countin’ on.” HE following morning a curious thing happened in the perfectly regulated life of Peter Trimble, senior. It would have been not at all surprising if it had hap- pened to anybody else, but when Mr. Trimble, who prided himself on never forgetting anything that related to his business affairs, discovered as he sat in his office in the wagon factory that inadvertently he had left a packet of important papers at his home instead of bringing them to the office, as he had intended, he began to wonder whether he was losing his mind. In all his business career he had never before been guilty of such a piece of care- He began to ponder over his mental condition, searching for a flaw. After devoting several minutes of his valuable time to this anxious self-examination he con- cluded that his mind was as clear as ever, whatever its lessness. condition might have been when he left home. He must be getting old, he told himself. It was either that, or some worry had been preying on his mind that interfered with its usually smooth-running mechanism. He groped into his memory to discover whether there really had been any such worry to upset the even tenor of his ways. “Tt was that confounded circus!” he exclaimed at last. Yes, that was it beyond a doubt. He had been worrying a lot about the circus. It would be a good thing, he thought, if Millville had a law that would keep circuses They had a corrupting influence upon boys, and he wasn’t any too sure that they would not spread moral contagion to his own sons sooner or later. Across the street and directly opposite his office windows was a bill- board, which bore a picture of Tillie Fay and her white horse. He scowled as he looked at it, then consoled him- self with the reflection that the circus had gone and wasn’t due to arrive again for a whole year. But that fact did not save him from the necessity of going home for the packet of papers. Getting into his motor car, he speeded homeward. He lived on the slope of a hill in Millville’s outskirts in a big house from which there was an expansive view of the town and the surrounding country. As _ he arrived he was startled by most unusual sounds coming from inside. away. T the top of the doorsteps he stopped to listen. A stentorian masculine voice was singing a song, punc- tuated here and there by handclapping and wild shouts of approval. The shouts he recognized as coming from his two sons, but the voice of the singer puzzled him. “Must be the phonograph,’ he thought, but he couldn't understand how such a vulgar, slangy record could have come into the house. The buying of the records for the home was under his own supervision, and he drew the line at anything that did not appeal to him as suitable for a refined household. The song was followed by a quick succession of jokes, which were shouted so loud that the voice rang with them —jokes that seemed to Peter Trimble, senior, to be more suitable to a circus ring than to his own usually quiet and circumspect home. Mr. Trimble felt his anger rising rapidly. He was shocked, scandalized. Fortunately, no neighbors lived (Concluded on page 38)

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> re) Camping ELL, Scouts, I am glad to be with you again for a pow-wow on the subject of camping. Last time we were talking about canoe cruising. This time suppose we stick to Mother Earth and get off on our own feet. It is high time now to make plans for that vacation camping trip which I am sure every red-blooded scout has tucked away somewhere in the back of his head. Mind you, I What I did say was a camping trip. did not say “a trip to a vacation camp.” You know there is all the difference in the world betwen those two things. There are many different kinds of camps. For exam- ple. there is the Adirondack “Camp.” This is a hand- some house by a Take. fitted out with nice furniture and easy spring beds, with servants to wait on you, and guides to rew your boat when you go fishing and keep you from vetting lost when venture out in the woods. Now, don't laugh or sneer at the poor fellow who does that sort of thing. He simply doesn’t know any \ better. When he was a boy there were no Boy Scouts to teach him what real camping was like, and this is his best effort ‘to find a substitute. There is the lumber camp in the big woods, where the men sleep in bins in \ a big log house and eat their meals at \ a long table. This is a useful and necessary kind of camp, but it is not ( amping. you iy. Then there is the military camp, with }/ tents arranged in rows like a town and ] : | everything done according to rule, where every feilow is expected simply to obey the regulations and do what \\ he is told. But this is not camping. \\ Finally, there is the organized Scout \i\ Camp, where a lot of fellows get to- i gether in a fashion very much like the i military camp, with everything ar- ranged and worked out for them, from the making of the meals to the planning of their games. This is good enough in its place, but this is not what I even mean by camping. JHAT we are talking now is the kind of camping that made our pioneer forefathers stalwart, sourceful men about strong, self-reliant, re- the kind of camp- ing that stands a fellow on his own feet and puts him on his own resources, to take care of himself; packing his own outfit, pitching — his \ tent, building own own his own bed, cutting his wood and cooking his own grub. That is the kind of camping that every scout needs and every red-blooded boy wants. i Of course, the best place to do this kind of camping is in the real, big woods, and the scouts who can get off into the big woods are fortu- nate. But not every scout can go to the big woods. Perhaps it is just as well tlhe By rederick KA. Vreeland of the Camp Fire Club of America that he can’t for the present, because he might get into trouble for lack of experience. And he can get that ex- perience right near home, even if he lives in the heart of a city. The real meat of camping is in the spirit of the thing, and the scout who has the buckskin spirit will find a way to get real camping, if he has to camp in his own back yard. Just to illustrate this point: I remember one day pass- ing a vacant lot near the center of a town not far from New York City. In one corner of that lot I saw a queer little shack made of a piece of oilcloth stretched over a couple of poles. In front of it was a little fire, and on the fire was a steaming kettle, full of something that smelled good; and by the fire, watching the kettle, were two boys. j They didn’t wear scout uniforms, but there was some- thing about the camp that made me feel that those boys had the real buckskin spirit, so I went up and spoke to them, and asked if they were scouts. “Naw,” they “We're, not camping.” said. Boy Scouts—we’re ELL, you see, of course those fellows had got us all wrong, because they didn’t know what Scouting really means, and maybe they had got the wrong idea from some fellows who thought they were scouts and weren't. You know it takes more than a scout uniform to make a scout. The thing that makes a scout is the Scout Spirit. When I told these fellows what the scout spirit really was they realized that that was just the thing they were striv- ing for and didn’t know it. So, Scouts, when you plan that camping trip let it be the real thing, even if you have to camp in a vacant lot in town. If you don’t know how to plan the real thing, ask your Scoutmaster to show you and perhaps some of the suggestions I am going to give you now may help. ORGANIZING THE Party HEN you plan to go camping don’t take too big a crowd. A party of four is just about right for a trip in the woods, and when you get experience enough to make your Scoutmaster and parents sure of you, two are even better. In any case, don’t take more than six or eight. A larger crowd is apt to develop into an expedition, and makes the problem of picking a camp site and cook- ing the meals so difficult that it ends up by somebody doing most of the work and the rest getting in the way. Of course, at the beginning you should have your Scout- master show you how to do things, but every scout should look forward to the time to trust him to go off with one or two bunkies and stand on his own feet. taking care of yourself, meeting difficulties and conquer- when his Scoutmaster is willing Then you will know the real joy of ing obstacles by your own efforts, taking hardships when they come, and learning how to smile when your eyes get full of smoke, the frying pan upsets and spills the beans, and the rain comes down and finds a leak in the.roof right over your left ear. Don’t try to bite off too big a chunk the first time. You can’t expect to jump right into a real camping trip in the big woods and make a success of it without training and preparation, any more than you can expect to make a success of flying by standing on top of a house and waving your arms. Campcraft is a high art, which must be learned by practice and experience. I was in training for fifteen years before I made my first long trip in the Canadian Northwest, and from year to year I keep a sharp eye on the growth of our home scouts to see who is ready to take a trip with me in the woods of Canada. Only the most trustworthy, clear-headed and resourceful are fit. So, begin right now, Scouts, and get yourselves ready for that trip, and at the same time plan your outfit so that it will be ready, too, when the time comes. OverNicuts, AND LONGER Trips i can get a lot of practice in camperaft from your ordinary troop hikes, if you Don’t just go off for a walk make it a matter of prin- I learn something new every time I go out. That is the fascina- tion of woodcraft— HIKEs, them right. 1 good time, but work and ciple to learn something. BOYS’ LIFE So, when you Don’t take you never come to the end of it. go on a hike, make the most of it. along a lunch of sandwiches and a bottle of cold coffee, as I have seen some so-called scouts do; take something that will give you practice in cooking, and make it different each time. Begin with simple things such as bacon, not dogs, a piece of steak or a chop, or perhaps a chicken. Don’t cook it in a frying pan—any chump can do that—but learn to do it artisti- cally by spitting it on a forked stick and roasting it over the coals (nof in the flame). When you are master at this, try a Mulligan stew. Then learn to make good camp bread. I don’t mean the abominable flapjacks and “sink- ers” that are simply good to ruin your digestion, but a good, wholesome bannock of Johnnycake baked in a re- flecting oven or baked (not fried) in your frying pan. Then try the boiled cereals—boiled rice with raisins is a great favorite with my scouts, and when we have corn meal mush there is never enough to go around. There is no reason in the world why you should not have just as good, wholesome food in camp as you have at home. It is just a matter of knowing how, and until you know how you are not fit to go camping. AKE along a real axe instead of the little tenderfoot hatchet and learn to handle it skilfully in cutting and splitting your firewood, for you will need this skill when you go camping. Learn how to choose your lunch camp ground intelligently, finding good water, a good chance for wood, and a place where the wind will not blow your fire all over the countryside. When you have learned to do these things like a real scout and not like a duffer, ask your Scoutmaster to take you off on an overnight hike. This will give you a chance to practise more advanced cooking and to learn some- thing more about choosing camp grounds, pitching tents, building campfires and the very important art of packing your outfit like a woodsman and not like a traveling junk shop. For these overnight hikes you can begin with some place near, at hand where the job is easy and little by little, as you gain skill, you can take longer and more difficult trips. Then some day, perhaps, your Scoutmaster will let you go off by yourself with a bunkie. There are lots of interesting trips you can make when you have learned how to do it. For example, two of our scouts went recently from our home camp in northern New Jersey to the camp of National Scout Commissioner Dan Beard, in Pike County, Pennsylvania, traveling on foot and Another party went across to the Two other fellows, who were stil! living on the country. Bear Mountain Camp. more ambitious, took a two weeks’ hiking trip through Adirondacks, paying no attention to roads or trails, but +) ti going right through the woods with their compasses. guided only by the Government Topographic maps, and finishing by climbing Mount Marey. When you can d this you have a right to call yourself a real camper. Tue Camp Ovrtrir teaching yourself how to do things. will be getting together things t And that brings us to the important The camper’s outfit is the surest HILE you are of course you help you do them. matter of the outfit. sign of his skill and experience, and when you see a felloy staggering along under a load that looks like moving day. you can put him down at once for a novice. The experi- enced camper is known by the things he does not take t camp. I don’t mean by this the fellow who thinks it is clever to go without things and endure unnecessary hard ships just from bravado. That is a sign of another kind of novice. The experienced camper takes everything that he really needs and nothing that he does not need, and lh: learns how to pack it efficiently. TATURALLY, the first thing we think of in planning iN the outfit is the tent. One can get along on short trips without a tent, throwing up a wind-break when it blows hard, or building a lean-to, using the tarpaulin to! a roof if it rains, and you should learn how to do thes things when you have to in emergencies. But in the long run it generally pays to take a tent. When I,say a tent, I don’t mean a house. the wilds of Canada I ran across an outfit in a wall tent almost as big as a flat for light housekeeping. We them up at once as duffers and dubbed them the “circus tent outfit.’ When we saw them afloat in a canoe piled high with all kinds of junk, we knew that our judgment One day in sized was correct. This is all the editor has space for this month. time let’s talk about tents and about camp cook kits, packs and grub outfits. Next beds, more XUM

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YUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine = © 2 AC 2 e ag LWA UA = Hk whole problem of outfitting was explained many years ago by a grizzled old frontiersman who had become a guide for eastern sportsmen. I had asked him what sort of a personal outfit he carried into a certain mountain range. “What sort of an outfit do I carry?” he repeated, a humorous twinkle in his deep set eyes, “I never carries any outfit, startin’ out, cause T knows thet when the goin’ gits bad the dudes I’m guidin’ ‘Il chuck away enough stuff to stock a country store.” The story has its funny side, but back of the humor lies a vast well of human experience. Outfitting is as easy as rolling off a log, for it calls for only two things— conrnon sense and experience, Now you can be born with common sense, but experi- ence has to be earned by the sweat of the brow and the more experienced you become the more you will realize that the real problem in outfitting consists in carrying your outfit. THE HE problem of weight-carrying has tormented man- kind since the day when the cave man_ staggered homeward under the weight of the wild beast he had killed for food. The red-capped porter who meets the trains is a weight carrier as surely as the half breed trap- per portaging his canoe on the edge of the Barren Grgunds. When we study the weight problem from the viewpoint of the modern lover of the great outdoors we are con- fronted by some interesting facts. Were it not for the difficulty of transporting our supplies the wilderness would long since have ceased to exploration would be a tame pastime without danger or charm. This thought brings me to the point I wish to write about— the relation between carrying weight in the wilderness and carrying weight on scout hikes. The only difference that I can see in the two problems rests on the difficulty of transporting our supplies. A wilderness trip usually entails far greater difficulties in transportation than does a trip in partly settled regions. This means that in the wilderness we must either carry less or transport our outfit with greater effort and skill. The amount we can carry ordinarily would depend on the difficulties we expect to encounter, but experience teaches us that where one man fails another may, by the help of experience and skill succeed. No real scout likes to fail where others succeed, so in the hope that some of my sug- gestions may be helpful to scouts I shall take up some of the lessons I have learned concerning back-packing. PropteM or Carryinc Weicutr exist or Tyres or Pack-Harness a it would require many pages to give even a rough i outline of the different methods of wilderness trans- pertation I shall confine myself to the most primitive of all weight-carrying methods—that of “back-packing.” My first serious back-packing experience occurred when I was seventeen years old. A valuable part of the Gov- ernment forest in the Olympic Mountains had been thrown open and although I was too young to stake a claim in my own name, I welcomed the chance to go. My companion was as inexperienced as I was and in spite of the fact that we had been camping often, our past experi- ences in weight carrying were confined to the packing of From force of habit we bought a lot of Our pack harness consisted of two gunny sacks which we fastened to our backs with rope shoulder straps. I will draw a veil over our sufferings, suffice it to say that when we finally reached civilization our backs bore in black and blue marks the imprint of every known canned product, and our shoulders were raw from the chafing of the rope shoulder straps. In looking back on this experience I feel that the lesson was of inestimable value for it taught me, as no book or article could, the wrong way to carry a pack. For this reason I shall not attempt to lay down any hard and fast rules for I have found that one of the greatest joys in the outdoor life consists in learning by our own mistakes. pack-strap should measure up to certain Standards: it should not chafe the wearer and it should he light, strong, and safe. In theory there are only two types of pack harness: the type which supports the weight from the shoulders, and the type which supports the weight from the head and neck. All pack-straps are modifications of these two types. Indian ponies. canned goods. A good 7. THE 11. method of carrying weight by the head and neck * originated among the Indians of the eastern United States and Canada. The strap is called the “ tump-line ” “ TUMP-LINE ” By Belmore browne Of the Camp Fire Club of America and it consists of a soft band of some strong material which passes over the forehead with the ends hanging behind the shoulders. ‘The burden is made fast to the ends of the tump-line so that it rests against the back of the packer. The “tump-line” is the favorite pack- strap of men living in well watered country where the canoe is the principal means of transportation. Its chief advantage is the east and rapidity with which it can be fastened to different kinds of packs and this is a valuable asset where short portages necessitate the rapid loading and unloading of canoes. As one travels west, away from canoe and portage country, the tump-line is superseded by more elaborate harnesses for where there is no canoe water men must carry their supplies day after day, and in carrying heavy loads with the tump-line the iead is bent forward and downward to support and balance the weight and continuous travel in this position becomes irk- some. The pack also lacks security and where men must use their arms to climb or chop trail the tump-line is not satisfactory. , To my mind the greatest value of the tump-line lies in the ease with which it can be combined with the shoulder strap. As an illustration we will suppose that two scouts have gone on an overnight camping trip. They are carry- ing twenty-five pounds apiece in their knapsacks, when an accident makes it necessary for one of the scouts to carry both loads. After tying the two knapsacks together he starts onward, but before he has traveled far he finds that the weight is beginning to hurt his shoulders. It is at this point that the knowledge of how to use a tump-line will save him hard work and suffering. Taking two strings—shoe-laces will do—he ties them to the outside lower corners of the knapsacks. He then ties the loose ends to his handkerchief and adjusts them so that when he stands up with the handkerchief across his forehead his shoulders will be relieved of a considerable portion of the weight. This method of distributing weight between shoulder straps and tump-line is one of the most impor- tant lessons to be learned in packing. SHovuLpER Straps Y far the greater number of pack-harnesses come under the head of “shoulder-straps.” All pack-bags, knap- sacs, etc., are supported by shoulder straps and for carry- ing loads of forty pounds or less they are very satisfactory. When loaded more heavily they hang too low and drag on the shoulders and, unless they are equipped with an adapta- tion of the tump-line, prove unsatisfactory. This weight limit of about forty pounds brings them well within the zone of usefulness for scout hikes, for where the pack: is composed of small articles aggregating twenty or twenty- five pounds the pack-sack is the most satisfactory type of harness. Its only drawback is its unfitness for heavy and bulky loads, but it is this very weakness that bars it from hard trips in the wilderness. There are exceptions to this rule, however, for I have found the U. S. Army type of knapsack useful as a personal camp or emergency-bag. The leather pack-strap is another well known type of harness. It consists of two broad shoulder straps and a system of smaller straps that hold the pack on the back. With ordinary loads of medium weight this harness is satisfactory, but my first experience on a long wilder- ness trip taught me that it had several serious weaknesses. To begin with, leather does not stand the continuous strain of heavy loads, and the strap is best suited to loads that are carried upright, whereas very heavy and bulky loads should lie across the back. ’ Y next experiment was with the “board-strap,” and I found that it, likewise, had many unsatisfactory features. The board-strap is a simple framework of wood over which is laced a strong piece of canvas. The tightly stretched Canvas rests against the back and the frame is held in place by shoulder straps. For certain types of packing this harness is most sat- isfactory, but the difficulty of adapting it to bulky packs or loads that must be carried hori- zontally limit its usefulness. Its weight and size also detract from its value as a harness to be carried while hunting. Up to this time one of the most satisfactory harnesses that I had used was the simplest: the old, time-honored “overall-pack.” This primitive method of carrying weight has been in use among frontiersmen as far back as we can member. It consists —=—s ——— = = re- >> The waist of the trousers are but- of a pair of trousers. toned around the bottom of the pack, and lashed securely in place, and the ends of the trouser-legs are tied to the top of the pack, forming two shoulder straps. For loads of medium weight it is an excellent harness, but the fact that it can only be used on upright, and moderately small Icads, and that it is not easily adjusted, eliminates it from serious consideration. Although I had been experimenting in a small way, it was not until I had tried the pack-strap used by the Aleutes on the south coast of Bering Sea that I successful in evolving a pack-strap that has few, if any. faults. The first thing that struck me on seeing the Aleute har- ness, Was its extreme simplicity, for it consisted of noth- ing but a piece of wood with two long strings made ot walrus hice attached to each end. The stick was formed to fit the chest and the strings passed over the shoulders, around the pack, and, passing under the arms ran upward to the breast-stick where they were fastened by a halt hitch. On using the harness I found that the breast-stick was upward and outward where the shoulder-strings pulled, and downward and outward where the strings from the bot- tom of the pack pulled. It took only a mo- ment to see that a soft piece of cloth could be used in place of breast-stick and that the shoulder strings could be changed for broad / / straps of canvas padded with cloth with small \¥ ropes sewed into the ends. It took less than IN an hour with the aid of a palm and needle to make the experiment, and the result was the \ most satisfactory harness that I have ever used. | Was N 1910 I equipped a party of five men in ad- dition to myself with this pack harness and we packed an outfit that at the start weighed more than twelve hundred pounds, from the Chulitna River to Mount McKinley, a distance of forty miles over glacier ice. It was the first time that I had subjected the harness to such a severe test and it won the unqualified approval of every man. Since then I have carried packs of more than one hundred pounds, day after day, through the trailless wilder- ness north of the Alaskan Range, and after long trial and the hardest use [ believe it to be the simplest, lightest, and most easily adjusted pack-strap known, My reader must not make the mis- take, however, of believing / that by merely equipping himself with a good pack- strap he will be able to car- ry a heavy pack without fatigue or inconvenience, for he is doomed to disappoint- ment. The mere fact that a fifty-pound pack adds just so many pounds to the weight of a man’s body, results in a heavy strain on his muscular sys- tem, and such a strain cannot be endured without acquiring experi- ence, strength and stick-to-it-iveness. Newt month Mr. vy, Browne will talk of arranging and carrying a pack.

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HULU UUTOUNORNUUUARLURVENAAULI GLEN TUUUUULL Off with your scout fellows at camp, after supper comes the big hour of the day—the Camp Fire. You have your frolic and songs, then a lull, and the silence is broken by a voice shouting: “Someone tell us a story. What a bully story “Silverhorns” would be for such a time.—The Editors. UULAUUUINUNLUAAUNUUNUOOU1140 100 U000ONLNOUNULUOUETOEVL.U.UALNUATOUSU AULA HE railway station of Bathurst, New Brunswick, did not look particularly merry at two o'clock of a late September morning. There was an easterly haze driving in from the Baie des Cha- leurs, and the darkness was so saturated with chilly mois- ture that an honest downpour of rain would have been a relief. “Two or three depressed and somnolent travelers vawned in the waiting-room, which smelled horribly of smoky lamps. The telegraph instrument in the ticket- office clicked spasmodically for a minute, and then re- lapsed into a gloomy silence. The imperturbable station- master was tipped back against the wall in a wooden armchair, with his feet on the table, and his mind sunk in an old Christmas number of The Cowboy Magazine. The express agent, in the baggage-room, was going over his last week’s way-bills and accounts by the light of a lantern, trying to locate an error, and sighing to himself as he failed to find it. A wooden trunk tied with rope, . couple of dingy canvas bags, a long box marked “ Fresh Fish! Rush!” and two large leather portmanteaus witn brass fittings were piled on the luggage-truck at the far end of the platform; and beside the door of the waiting- the overhanging eaves, neat room, sheltered by was a traveling-bag, with a and a leaning against the wall. The wet rails glittered dimly northward and southward away into the night. A few blurred lights glimmered from the village across the bridge. gun-case rod-case — HEMENWAY had observed all these fea- tures of the landscape with silent dissatisfaction as he smoked steadily up and down the platform waiting for the Maritime Express. It is usually irritating to ar- ive at the station on time for a train on the Intercolonial The arrangement is seldom mutual; and some- times yesterdays train does not come along until to- morrow afternoon. Moreover, Hemenway was inwardly discontented with the fact that he was coming out of the woods instead of “Coming out” always made a little unhappy, whether his expedition had been Railway. going in. him successful or not. He did not like the thought that it was all over; and he had the very bad habit, at such times, of looking ahead and computing the slowly lessening num- ber of chances that were left to him. “Sixty odd years—I may live to be that old and keep my shooting sight,” he said to himself. “That would give me a couple of dozen more camping trips. It’s a short allowance. I wonder if any of them will be more lucky than this one. This makes the year I’ve tried to get a moose; and the odd trick has gone against me seventh every time.” He tossed away the end of his cigar, which made a little trail of sparks as it rolled along the sopping platform, and turned to look in through the window of the ticket- office. Something in the agent’s attitude of literary ab- sorption aggravated him. He went around to the door and opened it. “Don’t you know or care when this train is coming?” “ Nope,” said the man placidly. * Well, when? What's the matter with her? she due?” * Doo twenty minits ago,” said the man. “ Forty minits late down to Moocastle. Git here quatter to three ef nothin’ more happens.” “But what has happened? beastly old road, anyhow? ” “Freight car skipped the track,” said the man, “up to Charlo. Everything’s hung up an’ kinder goin’ slow till they git the line clear. Dunno nothin’ more.” With this statement the agent disclaim all responsibility for the future of travelers, and dropped his mind back into the magazine again. Hemenway lit another cigar and went into the baggage-room to smoke with the expressman, It nearly three o’clock when they heard the far-off shriek of the whistle sounding up from the south; then, after an interval, the puffing of the engine on the up-grade; then the faint ringing of the rails, the increasing clatter of the train, and the blazing headlight of the locomotive swept slowly through the darkness, past the platform. The en- gineer was leaning on one arm, with his head out of the cab-window, and as he passed he nodded and hurried into the ticket-office, where the tick-tack of a conversation by telegraph was soon under way. The black porter of the Pullman car was looking out from the vestibule, and when he saw Hemenway his sleepy face broadened into a grin When is What’s with the wrong seemed to impatient conclusive was reminiscent of many generous tips. Copyright by Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1907 BOYS’ LIFE i =... insite —eArnntetiioiintlian dimen ~* an Silverlhorns By Henry Van DykKe Illustrated by Remington Schuyler “Glad to see yo" take “ Howdy, Mr. Hennigray,” he cried. ag’in, sah! I got yo’ section alright, sah! yo’ things, sah! Train gwine to stop hyeh fo’ some time yet, I reckon.” “Well, Charles,” said Hemenway, “you take my things and put them in the car. Careful with that gun now! The Lord only knows how much time this train’s going to I’m going ahead to see the engineer.” Lemme lose. NGUS McLEOD was a grizzle-bearded Scotchman who had run a locomotive on the Intercelonial ever the road cut through the from New Brunswick to Quebec. Everyone who travelled often on that line knew him, and all who knew him well enough to get below his rough crust, liked him for his big heart. “Hallo, McLeod,” said Hemenway as he came through the darkness,” “ is that you?” “It’s nane else,” answered the engineer as he stepped down from his cab and shook hands warmly. “ Hoo are ye, Dud, an’ whaur hae ve been murderin’ the innocent beasties noo? Hae ye killt yer moose yet? Ye’ve been chasin’ him these mony years.” “Not much murdering,” replied Hemenway. “T had a queer trip time time—away up the Nepissiguit, with old McDonald. You know him, don’t you?” “Fine do I ken Rob McDonald, an’ a guid mon he is. Hoo was it that ve couldna slaughter stacks o’ moose wi’ him to help ye? Did ye see nane at all?” “Plenty, and one with the biggest horns in the world! But that’s a long story, and there’s no time to tell it now.” “Time to burrn, Dud, nae fear o’ it! *Will be an hour afore the line’s clear to Charlo an’ they lat us oot o’ this. Come awa’ up into the cab, mon, an’ tell us yer tale. ’Tis couthy an’ warm in the cab, an’ I’m willin’ to leesten to yer since was woods up bluidy advaintures.” So the two men clambered up into the engineer's nest- Hemenway gave Mcleod his longest and strongest cigar, and filled his own briar-wood pipe. The rain pattering gently on the roof of the cab. The engine hissed and sizzled patiently in the darkness. The fragrant smoke curled steadily from the glowing tip of the cigar; but the pipe went out half a dozen times while Hemenway was telling the story of Silverhorns. “We went up the river to the big rock, just below In- Falls. There we made our main camp, intending to hunt on Forty-two mile Brook. There’s quite a snarl of ponds and bogs at the head of it, and some burned hills was now dian gene XUM

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we

YUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine over to the west, and it’s very good moose country. “ But some other party had been there before us and we saw nothing on the ponds except two cow moose and a calf. Coming out the next morning we got a fine deer on the old wood road—a beautiful head. But I have plenty of deer-heads already.” “ Bonny creature!” said McLeon. “An’ what did ye do wi’ it, when ye had murdered it?” . “Ate it, of course. I gave the head to Billy Boucher, the cook. He said he could get ten dollars for it. The next evening we went to one of the ponds again and Injun Pete tried to ‘call’ a moose for me. But it was no good.

McDonald was disgusted with Pete’s calling; said it sounded like the bray of a wild ass of the wilderness. So the next day we gave up calling and travelled the woods over toward the burned hills. “In the afternoon McDonald found an enormous moose track; he thought it looked like a bull’s track, though he wasn’t quite positive. But then, you know, a Scotchman never likes to commit himself except about theology or polities.” “Humph!” grunted McLeod in the darkness, showing that the stroke had counted. VW ELL, we went on, following that track through the woods, for an hour or two. It was a terri- ble country, I tell you; tamarack swamps, and spruce thickets, and windfalls, and all kinds of misery. Presently we came out on a bare rock on the burned hillside, and there, across a ravine, we could see the animal lying down, just below the trunk of a big dead spruce that had fallen. The beast’s head and neck were hidden by some bushes, but the fore-shoulder and side were in clear view, about two hundred and fifty yards away. McDonald seemed to be inclined to think that it was a bull and that I ought to So I shot, and knocked splinters out of the spruce log. We could see them fly. The animal got up quickly and looked at us for a moment, shaking her long ears; then the huge unmitigated cow vamoosed into the brush. McDonald remarked that it was ‘a verry fortunate shot, almaist providaintial!’ And so it was; for if it had gone six inches lower and the news gotten out at Bathurst it would have cost me a fine of two hundred dollars.” “Ye did weel, Dud,” puffed McLeon; “verra weel in- shoot. deed—for the coo!” “After that,” continued Hemenway, “of course my nerve was a little shaken, and we went back to the main camp on the river to rest over Sunday. That was all right, wasn’t it, Mac?’ “Aye!” replied McLeod, who was a strict member of the Presbyterian church at Moncton. “ That was surely a verra safe thing to do. Even a hunter, Im thinkin’, wouldna like to be breakin’ twa commandments in the ane day—the foorth and the saxth!” “Perhaps not. It’s enough to break one, as you do once a fortnight when you run your train into Riviere du Loup Sunday morning. How’s that, you old Calvinist? ” “Dudley, ma son,” said the engi- neer, “dinna airgue a point that ye canna understond. There’s guid an’ sufficient reasons for the train. But yell ne’er be claimin’ that moose- huntin? is a wark o’ necessity or maricy? ” “No, no, of course not; but then, you see, barring Sundays, we felt that it was necessary to do all we could to get a moose, just for the sake of our reputations. Billy, the cook, was par- ticularly strong about it. He said that an old woman in Bathurst, a kind of fortune teller, had told him that he was going to have ‘la bonne chance’ on this trip. He wanted to try his own mouth at ‘calling.” He had never really done it before. But he had been practising all winter in imita- tation of a tame cow that Johnny Moreau had, and he thought he could make the sound ‘b’en bon? So he got the birch bark horn and gave us a sample of his skill. MceDon- ald told me privately that it was ‘nae Sa bad; a deal better than Pete’s feck- less bellow” We agreed to leave the Indian to keep the camp (after lock- ing up the whiskey flask in my bag), and take Billy with us on Monday to ‘cal? at Hogan’s Pond. “Tt’s a small bit of water, about three-quarters of a mile long and four

moose hundred yards across, and four miles back from the river. There is no trail to it, but a blazed line runs part of the way and for the rest you follow up the little brook that runs out of the pond. We stuck up our shelter in a hollow on the brook, half a mile below the pond, so that the smoke of our fire would not drift over the hunting ground, and waited till 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Then we went up to the pond and took our position in a clump of birch trees on the edge of the open meadow that runs round the east shore. Just at dark Billy began to call, and it was beautiful. You know how it goes. Three short grunts and then a long coooo-aaaa-ooooh, winding up with another grunt! It sounded lonelier than a love-sick hippopotamus on the house-top. It rolled and echoed over the hills as if it would wake the dead. “There was a fine moon shining, nearly full, and a few clouds floating by. Billy called, and called, and called again. The air grew colder and colder; light frost on the meadow-grass; our teeth were chattering, fingers numb. 66 HEN we heard a bull give a short bawl, away off to the southward. Presently we could hear his horns knock against the trees, far up on the hill. Me- Donald whispered, ‘ He’s comin’” and Billy gave another vall. “But it was another bull that answered, back of the north end of the pond, and pretty soon we could hear him rapping along through the woods. Then everything was still. ‘Call agen, says McDonald, and Billy called again. “This time the bawl came from another bull, on top of the westerr. hill, straight across the pond. It seemed to start up the other two bulls, and we could hear all three of them thrashing along as fast as they could come, toward the pond. ‘Call agen, a wee one,’ says McDonald, trem- bling with joy. And Billy called a little, seducing call, with two grunts at the end. “Well, sir, at that, a cow aygd a calf came rushing down through the brush not two hundred yards away from us, and the three bulls went splash into the water, one at the south end, one at the north end, and one on the west shore. ‘Heavins,’ whispers McDonald, ‘ it’s a meenadgerie!’”- “Dud,” said the engineer, getting down to open the fur- nace door a crack, “ this is mair than murder ye’re comin’ at; it’s a butchery—or else it’s juist a pack o’ lees.” “T give you my word,” said Hemenway, “it’s all true as the catechism. But let me go on. The cow and the calf

ee There, standing knee-deep in the water, was the biggest and blackest moose i II only stayed in the water a few minutes, and then ran back through the woods. But the three bulls went sloshing around in the pond as if they were looking for something. We could hear them, but we could not see any of them, for the sky had clouded up and they kept far away from us. Billy tried another short call, but they did not come any nearer. McDonald whispered that he thought the one in the south end might be the biggest, and he might be feeding, and the two others might be young bulls, and they might be keeping away because they were afraid of the big one. This seemed reasonable; and I said that I was going to crawl around the meadow to the south end. ‘Keep near a tree,’ says Mac; and I started. “There was a deep trail, worn by animals, through the high grass; and in this I crept along on my hands and knees. It was very wet and muddy. My boots were full of cold water. After ten minutes I came to a little point running out into the pond, and one young birch growing on it. Under this I crawled, and rising up on my knees looked over the top of the grass and bushes. “There, in a shallow bay, standing knee-deep in the water and rooting up the lily-stems with his long, pendu- lous nose, was the biggest and blackest bull moose in the world. As he pulled the roots from the mud and tossed up his dripping head I could see his horns—four and a half feet across, if they were an inch, and the palms shining like tea-trays in the moonlight. I tell you, old Silverhorns was the most beautiful monster I ever saw. . ‘B UT he was too far away to shoot by that dim light, so I left my birch-tree and crawled along toward the edge of the bay. A breath of wind must have blown across me to him, for he lifted his head, sniffed, grunted, came out of the water, and began to trot slowly along the trail which led past me. I knelt on one knee and tried to take him. <A black cloud came over the moon. I couldn't see either of the sights on the gun. But when the bull ‘ame opposite to me, about ‘fifty yards off, I blazed away at a venture. “He reared straight up on his hind legs—it looked as if he rose fifty feet in the air—wheeled, and went galloping along the trail, around the south end of the pond. In a minute he was lost in the woods. §so0od-by, Silverhorns!” “Ye tell it weel,” said McLeon, reaching out for a fresh cigar, “ fegs! Ah doot Sir Walter himsel’ couldna improve upon it. An, sae thet’s the way ye didna murder puir Seelverhorns It’s a tale I'm joyfw to be hearin’.” “Wait a bit,” Hemenway answered. rhat’s not the end, by a long shot. There’s worse to follow. The next morning we returned to the pond at daybreak, for McDonald thought I might have wounded the moose. We searched the bushes and the woods where he went out very carefully, looking for drops of blood on his trail.” “Bluid!” groaned the engineer. “ Hech, mon, wouldna that come nigh to mak’ ye greet, to find the beast’s red bluid splashed over the leaves, and think o’ him staggerin’ on thro’ the forest, drippin the heart oot o” him wi’ every step!” “But we didn’t find any blood, you old sentimentalist. That shot in the dark was a clear miss. We followed the trail by broken bushes and foot- prints for half a mile, and then came back to the pond and turned to go down through the edge of the woods to the camp. “It was just after sunrise. I was walking a few yards ahead, MecDon- ald next, and Billy last. Suddenly he looked around to the left, gave a low whistle and @ropped to the ground, pointing northward. Away at the head ef the pond, beyond the glitter of the sun on the water, the big black- ness of Silverhorns’ head and body or was pushing through the bushes, dripping with dew. “Each of us flopped down behind the nearest shrub as if we had been playing squat-tag. Billy had the birch- bark horn with him, and he gave a low, short call. Silverhorns heard it, turned, and came parading slowly down the western shore, now on the sand-beach, now splashing through the shallow water. We could see every motion and hear every sound. He marched along as if he owned the (Continued on page 63)

cee nm the world

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BOYS’ LIFE the Top of World 1? The a is won Woh « desolation lhout the ageless aale of the earth; . , »hHbed of the Whiler warmth never setting sun Circles above a world ¢ where life is not. Co : N Lampert R. THomas. € . i = - ~ eS ee Robert E. Discoverer of the North Pole Peary, ° LITTLE less than 400 years ago, in 1527, Eng- f land sent out the first recorded expedition in search of the North Pole. Eighty years later, in 1607, Henry Hudson made his historic voyage. From that time on for 275 years Great Britain held the record, slowly pushing the record up to 83 degrees 20 minutes, north latitude. Then, in 1882, the lead came to the United States. Chirteen years later Norway went to the front, and in 1900 a member of the Royal house of Italy, the Duke of Six years later the the Abruzzi, grasped the blue ribbon. record of 87 United States took the lead degrees 6 minutes. So matters stood in the spring of 1908, when the Peary \retie Club, of New York City, was fitting out its last North Polar expedition. This club is an organization made up of men prominent of them of interna- with a again, business and social circles, some in tional reputation. Its President is General Thomas H. Hubbard, its Vice-President Zenas Crane, and its Sec- retary Herbert L. Bridgman. The expedition left New York July 6, 1908, in the steamer Roosevelt, built by the Club, and commanded by Captain Robert A. Bartlett; was reviewed by President Roosevelt, and steamed northward, arriving at Cape York, North Greenland, August 1. Eskimos, dogs, furs, etc., were obtained in the Eskimo country, and on August 18 the Roosevelt steamed north through the narrow, ice-encumbered channels forming the American gateway to the Pole. Winter quarters at Cape Sheridan, on the north coast of Grant Land, 450 miles from the Pole, reached September 5. Here the expedition wintered, hunting, were he ee — * The Ne ar ¢ ape Roosevelt,” Alongside a Glacier York, Peary's Ship Witten for Boys’ Life by the Famous Explorer in 1914 ee By Rear-Admiral Robert Ik. Peary j ee nF \ | Marvin with Team of Eskimo Dogs (UIULLUL.LUUUVLOLUUULUOLUONA LAURA How the Goal Was Won PRIL 6, 1909. freezing point. Wide stretching ice fields, covering an ocean two miles in depth, a sky of blue, and a blinding sun sweeping slowly round the heavens, parallel with the horizon. A region into which in all the ages since the earth was born no human being had ever penetrated. The North Pole. The splendid, glittering, frozen prize of centuries. Six fur-clad figures, representing three great races, the White, the Yellow, the Black; five groups of splendid Eskimo dogs; five long, narrow curved sledges; two little beehive-shaped snow huts in the lee of some upheaved ice blocks; and on the highest pinnacle of ice a flag waving gently in the breeze—The Stars and Stripes. Your flag and mine. Never shall I forget it; and I don’t want you to, for it was the result of dreaming a dream, then working for the realization of the dream through twenty-three long years, with every energy of brain and soul and body concentrated on the one subject. Now let me tell you briefly the stery. A bitter, brilliant day, the temperature 63° below HINUILLNAAAUN HULU making equipment, and transporting supplies westward to Cape Columbia. The first division of the Northern sledge party left the Roosevelt February 15, 1909, the last division February 22. The entire sledge party left Cape Columbia, heading due north, March 1, the expedition comprising twenty- four men, nineteen sledges, one hundred and thirty-three dogs. Four successive supporting parties, in command of McMillan, Borup, Marvin and Bartlett, returned at various intervals, the last in command of Bartlett, from the 88th parallel. The main party, under my command, six men, five sledges, forty dogs, pushed forward by forced marches to the Pole itself, where it arrived on April 6, 1909. Here, in the midst of great fields of heavy ice, covering an ocean two iniles or more in depth, with the sun circling round the sky day after day without setting, the Stars and Stripes were planted, and a record left with a piece of the flag. Returning, we left the Pole April 7, and after a series of forced marches regained Cape Columbia April 23 and the Roosevelt April 27. July 18 the Roosevelt started south, and September 5 reached the wireless station at Indian Harbor, Labrador, whence the message, “ Stars and Stripes nailed to North Pole,” was sent flashing over the wor!d. The discovery of the North Pole stands for the inevit- able victory of persistence, experience, endurance, over all obstacles. It is the cap and climax, the finish, the closing of the book, on 400 years of history. The great lesson of the conquest is the infinite value of persistence and sound physique. The key to find success was experience. The LIFE selves the ma in he to magarine cousider fortunate to readers of the this Rear which ing able present Sine idmiral he lication in the June, 1914. Rear-Admiral died in message Pe for pub Jrom aru wrote issue of Peary Washington, D, C.. Fe bruary Poth 1920, Nalecaksoah, King of Peary’s Eskimo Dogs Every member of the party was fully imbued with the spirit of two mottoes: “ inveniat viam aut faciat” (Find a way or make one), and, “ Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.” Although this is the age of science, of invention, of wonderful progress, it is interesting to note that the North Pole was won in the last stage (as was also the South Pole) by the two first machines on earth, the human or- ganism and the animal organism, man and the Eskimo dog, driven through such a chaos of natural obstacles as the face of the globe; and man body, are found nowhere else on winning by pure insistence of the perfect elastic, adjustable, animated and driven by that God- given flame of intelligence which we call the brain. Boys, guard and cherish your God-given bodies as a priceless heritage. Watch them and keep them clean and in perfect adjustment. Don’t let the bearings get hot. Then with their normal running they will give vou health and happiness, and win you a place in the world, and when the supreme moment comes, as it will to some of you, when everything of ambition and success rests in a supreme and sustained effort, then you can pull the throttle wide open, and let them drive you to your prize ahead of all competitors. Hold fast to the creed of my friend George Borup: “Clear brain, clean body, persistence, a heart that will not accept ‘no,’ and you can win any prize.” Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, Which we ascribe to heaven. The fated sky Gives us free scope; only doth backward pull Our slow designs when we ourselves are dull. All’s Well That Ends Well. The Stars and Stripes at the North Pole, April 6, 1909 Editors of Voys’ XUM

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he YIM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine laen tlhe AN PHELPS was known to St. Jo’s by the name of “Bugs” because there must be a certain amount of justice in all things. During the three years he had spent at the famous old school he had always done the wrong thing at the right time. Moreover, that thing had ever been the unexpected. Life, to the happy-go-lucky, reckless lad, was one long, glad fiesta with just enough study sandwiched between thoughtless escapades to keep him safely in the middle of a class he could have easily led. As good-na- tured as he was careless, his pop- ularity was even more pronounced than his athletic ability and the com- bination had resulted in his cap- taincy of the nine at the election the previous spring although, even then, there had been an openly ex- pressed fear he would not take his leadership seriously. But Bugs left all such worries to others. Spring came and the dia- mond began to change from mud to grass yet, for a week, something had always come up to prevent his issuance of a formal call for candi- dates. Finally Tommy Nelson, his room-mate, posted orders for the opening practice in the captain’s name and spent the next twenty hours hoping Bugs might take the trouble to attend the affair. He did—about half an hour after the fielders had caught the first flies. Sauntering up to the plate, a good-natured grin on his decid- edly attractive face, he beckoned them to come in. As they crowded around him, he produced a _ sheet of paper from his cap. “Had my private secretary make out the list of candidates,” he announced, his blue eyes twinkling. “He further reports some of you are here or We’re going to have a good nine this season and we’re going to beat Norton. We're going to have a cinch because they’ve lost most of their old men while we’ve got six left. But you fellows who haven’t played before are going to be given a fair chance to make the team. Mason,” he begged, turning suddenly to a solemn-faced junior, “smile for the gentlemen, please! This is no funeral.” hereabouts. [* was Mason’s first year at St. Jo’s and he had been known to laugh openly once. That he had come out for the nine surprised them all. “What else do you want me to do?” he asked, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Guess that will be strenuous ex- ercise enough for one day,” chuckled Bugs, “ but, if you need more, chase a few grounders. I see you’re down as a self-acknowledged short stop. Everybody back on the job now,” he ordered. “I'll bat a few to the infield while Mr. Updyke pops ’em up to the out.” Nelson edged closer. “Talk team play and_ school spirit,” he urged in an impatient whisper. ‘“ Do the right thing once, Bugs.” “This is baseball, not a debate.” “You'll wreck the nine with your crazy ideas,” he growled. “Stick to the old _ stuff; it’s always worked.” The captain laughed. “ Versatility’s the thing, Tommy,” he grinned. “It’s the unexpected which does the trick. You leave the brain work to someone who's built to do it and get down to first. Look out, Mason, here she comes!” He drove a vicious liner down to short. Because Bugs hit it, it went wide. Mason plunged, stabbed it with one hand, whirled and lined it across the diamond. Phelps grinned approval. “Try this one,” he called and hit another. “Um!” he said to the coach at Unexpected By Brewer Corcoran Illustrated by S. Gordon Smyth “Don’t you think it’s time you began to prepare yourself to play a man’s part by considering how your acts may affect others?” his side. “That first mistake. That chap’s a ball player.” “Save your breath and get busy,” came the curt reply. didn’t look like a one HELPS laughed his merry, good-natured laugh. “ I’m wondering how I’m going to save more than that. He never told any of us he could play.” But, as the spring vacation drew closer, others beside the captain and the coach began to watch Jack Mason. He went at the game as he went at his lessons, soberly and seriously, and St. Jo’s appreciated he was a fielder far above the average. Yet Mason himself felt he had small chance of making the nine. Phelps had played at short two years and now was captain. Tom Nelson was the first to sense the possibilities of the situation and, because he idolized Bugs, im- 13 mediately took his troubles to Mr. Updyke. The coach met him with equal frankness. “Dan won’t be serious,” he stated, “and you can’t make him see this seriously. It was a mistake to make him captain, There’s too much fooling on the field and I can’t stop it while he’s the leader of it all.” “Would it help if I licked him?” “You can’t change a_ leopard’s spots,” quoted the master. “T can knock the spots out of this one,” growled Tom. “I’m too keen for Bugs and St. Jo’s to see things going as they are. Mason's at least as good as he and he won’t practice.” HAT night he tried to reason with his room-mate, but Bugs, having found a young otherwise interested. “I’m going to train the pretty birdie,” he nounced, “and when it’s learned a whole lot of cunning tricks, we'll go on the stage together and make our everlasting fortune. Here, you, quit that squawking!” In spite of all pleadings, Bugs took the bird to evening study. It was an entirely characteristic pro- ceeding. And, of course, he not resist the temptation to turn it loose. The resu‘tant pandemonium brought the Head from his office. Unhesitatingly he turned to Phelps. “Dan,” he ordered, “come with me.” As the boy followed, he wondered what the punishment would be this time, but he took his usual careless stand beside the Head’s desk and waited. To his utter amazement the old man, after studying him quizzi- cally for a moment, began to smile. “Sit down, my child,” he invited. Phelps wilted into a chair. “Dan,” began the wise old man, *vou’re a senior, the captain of the nine and the leader of the school. Don’t you think you’re a bit too old to take pets into the Study? Really, about the only humor I can find in this affair is your own position.” The lad went crimson. He began to see himself in a new light. “ Now,” continued the merciless one, “we must be fair. We must overlook no humor. Let us search for the joke carefully.” Dan bit his lip. ‘“* Let’s not,” he broke out. “ Why, oh why, haven't you shown me myself before!” robin, was could — Head leaned back and the suggestion of a satisfied smile crinkled the thin lips. ‘ Because I hoped some day you would find your- self for yourself. I think you’ve made a beginning. Don’t you ap- preciate the childish absurdity of this escapade and how equally fool- ish the majority of its predecessors have made you appear?” “T hadn’t thought of it that way before, sir.” “You haven’t thought at all,” he corrected. “I’ve known you for nearly four years now and in that time you’ve done more unexpected things than all the hundreds of boys I’ve known in forty years, yet none of those things has borne good fruit. And still you’ve said, and said to your nine, that it is ‘the un- é What do you mean?” expected which does the trick.’ “Guess I was only try- “T don’t know,” he confessed. ing to be funny again.” “Exactly, You said something, just as you have done many things, without thought. No one believes in orig- inality or versatility more than I, but there must be thought behind both, Dan—thought and purpose—if the accomplishment is to be worth while. You’re going to college next year, then out into a man’s world. Don’t you think it’s time you began to prepare yourself to play a man’s part by considering how your acts may

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14 affect others as well as yourself by being a little less selfish? ” “I'd never thought of my foolishness as selfishness. But you're right. Ill try to be more decent. But,” he added “it’s going to take some work to with a wry smile, change me.” “I'm here to help.” “TI never thought of that before, either,” admitted the “T’ve alw iys been sorter afraid of sir. I I guess I'd better go, if you boy soberly. been vou before, mind.” He rose abruptly and bolted through the guess don't door as if there was some emotion working within him which he wanted desperately to conceal. “The nine’s a good one, isn’t it?” “Tt can be better. Ive been playing Mason at short. He's better than I am. I want him to stay there. It crowds me out. I’ve brought you my resignation from the captaincy.” The Head took the offered slip of paper, spread it carefully on his desk, read it slowly, then picked up a pencil. “Not accepted,” he wrote across its face and handed it back without a word. “What—what do you mean, sir?” “That I’m evidently trying my own hand at the un- expected. But I'm also using judgment.” He rose and laid a hand on the astonished lad’s shoulder. “The best part of my life,” he said, “has been spent in building up a certain indefinite, but vital, thing called the spirit of St. Jo’s. Occasionally I get some great reward. This BOYS’ LIFE man claimed the one at his elbow each afternoon, With this arrangement a fairly satisfactory preliminary season was put behind and the day of the Norton game came at last. St. Jo’s knew it now faced a far different nine from any it had conquered. Clark, the Norton pitcher, had built an enviable reputation for himself. He had speed, control and deceptive curves and, as he pitched his cautious way through a scoreless first inning, Phelps studied his every move. “What do you think of him?” asked the Head quietly, as St. Jo’s took the field for the first of the fourth. “Not as much as I did,” came the equally calm answer. “ His catcher’s doing the brain work. He hasn't changed a signal so far.” “It’s a smooth working battery, Dan.” “It wouldn’t be if we could get its nerve. I could ride that chap out of the game in

QJ HELPS took vivid memories of that conversation home with him for the spring vacation and one re- sult was the surprise the players received when they met their captain for the first practice of the new term There was no grin on his face as he announced the tentative make up of the first and second nines. Young Conklin, bubbling with joy at being given the only vacancy in the infield, darted toward second, throwing his “Here's where we his place at glove in the air. play our heads off for St. op Jo's! he shouted. “You keep what head you're en- dowed with on neck,” advised Phelps gruffly, as he went to short. “You'll need it all. And keep your feet behind the ball.” Mr. Updyke was startled at the change but wisely kept his thoughts to himself. Nor, at the end of the week, had he any complaint to make the the Only Conklin troubled him. The youngster, while being a fairly capable fielder, was weak at the bat, the might lose his head in a tight corner, be- gan to consider the steadier Mason, your concerning earnestness of captain. and coach, realizing he plugging along in faithful silence on the second nine. The opening game with Hillcrest confirmed fears. In the enth, Conklin played the ball safe instead of taking a chance for a double play. It cost St. Jo’s the and Bugs, for the first time failed to offer the school laugh. What made it worse was that Conklin had done exactly what Phelps thought Head had advised him to do himself—play safe. For a night he fought it out, then went frankly to the old man. And this time he was told the value of and judgment. his sev- game in his ca reer, an excuse or a the resourcefulness

two innings—only St. Jo’s doesn’t do that sort of thing.” “Tt does not,’ confirmed the Head. “Oh!” There was sharp distress in his exclamation. Conk- lin had juggled an easy grounder. A moment later and the first Nor- ton run was scored. The cheering began in real earnest. Bugs sat back on the bench but only his body was languid. “Tm going after Clark,” he said, under his breath, as St. Jo’s came in from the field with a 1 to 0 score against them. “ Conk.,” he said, as the white-faced second picked up a bat, “forget that hard luck. We'll get the breaks yet, old man. Wait Clark out. Make him pitch his head off.” The old master but vaguely com- prehended the strategy, but nodded instant approval. “ Wait him out, Conklin,” he repeated. “Good luck to you!” baseman ONKLIN obeyed. He was out = on called strikes. But Clark had tried to him into offer- ing three wide ones. The next bat- ter fouled off two, took two balls and then followed Conklin’s trail to the bench. Dean, the third man- up, drew a base on balls, but South- worth, the center fielder, was out on a high foul. Dan Clark turn and look at him in a puzzled way as he started for the Norton bench. “It’s working, sir,” he whispered. “He’s wondering what’s up. And his catcher’s going to tell him. Wish I knew that catcher.” Bates, the Norton catcher, knew the game. “ They’re waiting you out,” he declared, as the pitcher sat “Put ’em over and take it tease saw

down.

As much as he hated to do it, on Monday he put Conklin back on the second nine and went to second him- self, while Mason came up into his old place at short. Mr. Updyke approved, but Bugs, playing on the unfamiliar side of the diamond, was like a fish out of water. Although did his best to cover up his captain’s weaknesses, the nine went off its stride and the bright prospects for the big game with Norton suffered a decided eclipse. Phelps stopped the practice and beckoned to Conklin. “I’m going to give you another chance,” he said, “ but you keep awake. Come back here, Mason!” “What do you mean? Do I stay at short?” “If you can crowd me out, you do,” agreed the cap- “But, believe me, you've got some Mason tain, with a smile. fight on your hands!” V ASON, the first beams of hope glowing before his 4 eyes, settled his spikes more firmly and accepted the challenge. Both coach and captain watched him keenly. Twice he pulled down line drives which should have been base hits, and Bugs, in his zenith, had never thrown to first so fast or accurately. That night Phelps again sought the Head, but this time with determination stamped on every feature. “Can you spare me a minute, sir?” he asked, steadily. “An hour, if you need it. What’s wrong, my boy?” “Nothing that can’t be straightened out in a minute,” he replied, slipping into a chair with an air of intimacy which pleased the old man beyond words. “I want to do the unexpected again, but I’ve thought it out care- fully first. It concerns the nine.” There was a crack, a roar from the stand is one of the occasions. You’ve vindicated my judgment once; you'll do it again. You've proved you can forget yourself; now I want you to show that thing you were speaking of the other day—your resourcefulness. Mr. Updyke is behind you. But your word is to be final. The nine is unreservedly in your hands.” Dazed, but with head up, Bugs Phelps left the office, the first captain at St. Jo’s who had ever been in supreme command and the first who had ever been without a place on the team he led. ET as the days passed, the strangeness of the situa- tion began to give way to a newer confidence and once or twice he was surprised at his own naturalness after he had taken some minor problem to the Head for debate and council. But his real surprise came in the discovery that the old man seemed quite at home in their discussions of “inside ball.” He had no way of knowing of those secret lessons in which Mr. Updyke was teacher and the Head an humble and earnest pupil. The real shock to the school came on that afternoon when the Head strolled across the diamond during prac- tice and took a seat on the coach’s bench close to Phelps. It was he who suggested that Bugs once more try for second, but two days later it was also he who seconded Bugs’ pronouncement that he was a failure there. As for trying again for short—that was out of the question. Mason was in a class by himself. So Phelps took his permanent place on the bench and the gray-haired easy. They won’t go after you be- fore the seventh.” “Oh!” <A slow smile “ Wondered what was on. bunch can’t hit me. I’ve got everything today.” Bates bit his lip. He wanted to say what he thought, but he knew his business too well to risk the game by plain speech. “You sure have!” he agreed. “Just you follow signals, Clarkie, old horse, and forget everything but how to pitch.” But Phelps, watching Clark as he started for the box in the last half of the seventh, saw Bates slap his shoulder, herd his low “ Steady, now,” and knew the Norton catcher had guessed his plan. “Same thing,” he ordered his first batter. “ Wait him out.” The inning ended with the St. Jo’s stand in a daze. Its nine could not hit. The school had begged for hits but all it was getting was the sight of young Clark piling up a strikeout record. As he went back to the bench they saw him laugh. “They’re eating out of my hand,” he said. “You keep your feet on earth, son.” “Don’t you worry about me.” Phelps knew he had taken a desperate chance by de- laying his attack. It was brought home to him with sickening force in the first of the eighth. Conklin made his second error. The Norton captain noted the lad’s white face. On the next pitch, he ordered his man to steal. Conklin dropped the perfect throw and all the fight went out of him in one wild surge of shame and humiliation. spread across Clark’s face. That (Concluded on page 44)

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XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine

N the last issue of Boys’ Lire I was able to tell of my Pacific Coast trip up to January 26th, when I met the Scouts of San Francisco. Santa Barbara, January 28th M Y first stop on the southern trip was at Santa Bar- i bara. Here, before seven in the morning, a repre- sentative committee of the local council met us, and a busy day began. First was a meeting at the high school with about 1,000 A representative group of men met at the Hotel Ambassador for luncheon. In the evening the Scouts and Scoutmasters met at the Social Center. One of the most pleasing and effective features of the visit to Santa Barbara was the delightful visit with Mr. W. H. Cowles, owner of the Spokane Review, and for many years president of the Spokane Local Council. He made a very fine talk to the Scouts, and watched me shake hands with each one of them. boys and girls. Los Angeles, January 29th T Los Angeles Mr. Miller and I were met by Mr. Milton A. McRae, who had come all the way by auto- mobile from San Diego. Mr. McRae is not only vice- president of the National Council, but organized and was for many years the president of the Detroit Council. He is now promoting the work in San Diego. Los Angeles is the home of Mr. Arthur Letts, another National vice-president; who had been with us at San Francisco. Mr. Letts is the president of the Los Angeles Council. It is the first time in the history of Scouting that two National vice-presidents of the Boy Scouts of America have been together on a program outside of New York City. The local committee were very thoughtful and our rooms were decorated with beautiful southern California flowers. There were two outstanding events in the Los Angeles visit. First, the inspection of the wonderful week-end camp, within a comparatively short distance of the center of business activity of Los Angeles, but high in the moun- tains and quite inaccessible to the general public. The fact that it was necessary to construct an expensive con- crete pool in order to give boys the opportunity of swim- ming made a deep impression upon me, and showed how lucky some scouts are who live in other parts of the coun- try. But the Los Angeles camp has many other beauties which are peculiar to southern California. Certainly it is splendid to think that the scouts can go there any month of the year. In the evening I met the largest group of Boy Scouts assembled at any time during my entire trip—there must have been over 2200 of them—mobilized by the efficient Scout Executive, Mr. E. B. De Groot. There were many assistant scoutmasters and many other A real worthwhile program was pre- scoutmasters, adults present also. sented by the scouts. Glendale, Pasadena and Long Beach, January 30th M* program for this day was the most strenuous in 4 the whole trip. The first meeting was at 9.30 with a jolly group of Glendale scouts, who wereeexcused from school to meet me, white Mr. McRae and I motored to Pasadena. Arriving in Pasadena, we were taken to the beautiful high school building, where I met the most inspiring audi- ence I had ever faced—2200 young men and young women, all uniformed. I was glad to have the opportunity to talk to this group of people about the training for leadership in American affairs. At luncheon I met with a selected group of men of affairs from all parts of the country to point out the necessity for greatly extending the Scout Movement. At 2 o’clock I met with the parents and social and educational workers of Pasadena, and at 4.40 with the Boy Scouts. One of the interesting features of the 4.30 meeting was the ovation given by the boys to Mr. Sigmund Eisner, who is spending the winter months in Pasadena. Mr. Tallman H. Trask is doing good work in Pasadena with the aid of Mr. Stuart W. French, and I predict a wonderful record. At Long Beach there three different meetings and splendid evidence of a determina- tion on the part of the business men to see that Pasadena and, indeed, Los Angeles does not get ahead of them in their efforts to properly care for the future citizens through the medium of the Boy Scout Movement. were Edited by James E. West Chief Scout Executive

SCOUT SONGS “JOHNNY WITH A SMILE” (Tune of “Liza Jane’) Come and join the jolly troop, Johnny, with a smile. Get in line and learn the game, Johnny, with a smile. First a Tenderfoot you'll be, Johnny, with a smile. Then you'll learn the big program Johnny, with a smile. CHORUS: Oh, Johnny, Scouting is fine, Oh, Johnny, Scouting is fine. GOOD MORNING, MISTER SCOUT—SCOUT— SCOUT (Tune of “Good Morning, Mr. Zip, Zip, Zip”!) Good Morning Mr. Sccut, Scout, Scout, With a smile on just as broad as mine. Guod Morning, Mr. Scout, Scout, Scout! You're surely looking fine, Knot and knot that you must tie, So hurry up and learn them and know just why. Good Morning, Mr. Scout, Scout, Scout! With a smile on just as broad as— A smile on just as broad as— A smile on just as broad as minel

San Diego, January 3lst. E had to get an early start because Mr. McRae very W kindly offered to motor us to Los Angeles, a dis- tance of 135 miles by railroad, and I had a wonderfully fine trip passing through orange groves and fruit orchards for many miles, and then for over fifty miles we were right on the beach of the Pacific Ocean. Incidentally, we just avoided a most serious accident in descending a very steep grade, where we ran into the effects of a rain cloud, and the machine skidded and was nearly turned over on a very high bank, but fortunately Mr. McRae was a skilled driver and was able to direct the car to the opposite bank, where we sank into a deep hele. Fortu- nately, with the aid of twelve men, we were able to lift the car out, and reached San Diego in time for our noon- day luncheon. Salem, Oregon, February 3rd< agen San Diego we went back to Pasadena and Los Angeles, rested Sunday, and then started on our northern trip, arriving at Salem, Ore., in the evening of February 3rd. We had just a ten-minute stop of the

Mr. Milton A. McRae, Vice- President of the National Council Mr. Arthur Letts, Vice- President of the National Council Mr. Walter W. Head, of the National Executive Board

train, but in that time I was able to greet 175 boys and have a jolly good time with them. Salem, Ore., is going to have a first-class council in the near future. Portland, Oregon, February 4th. ORTLAND, ORE., has a very enterprising president and executive. They made full use of my time, be- ginning at breakfast and continuing the entire day. Two different high schools assembled large audiences. At luncheon we met the business men, and a splendid con- ference with scoutmasters took place at 5.30. At this conference there were scoutmasters from Astoria, Ore. in the evening we had another record-breaking audience of scouts at the beautiful Municipal Auditorium, attended by at least 1500 scouts in uniform, and, my, what a lively bunch they were, and how they did appreciate all that was being done for them in their beautiful camp. Tacoma, Washington, February 5th. ACOMA is another one of the fast-growing com- munities of the Pacific Coast. My good friend. of many years, Elmer Dover, is the president of the Local Council, and he has succeeded in interesting an effective group of men who have been able to get a most beautiful camp site for their boys on government property. Over 200 scouts and scout officials took dinner with me end attended a big mass-meeting, where we had a splendid demonstration of what boys can do in a well-organized Bugle and Drum Corps. Seattle, Washington, February 6th, 7th and 8th. M Y visit to Seattle was one of the real treats of the id whole trip. I had a splendid opportunity to rest, but I also had an opportunity to spend more time in con- ference with scouts and scout officials. The new executive, Mr. Walsh, is proving himself a real leader there, and every detail of my program was well developed. The mass meeting of scouts at the high school building Saturday afternoon was a real inspiration. Spokane, Washington, February 9th. WAS here to take part in the Anniversary Week pro- gram and attend a big Father and Son Banquet held et the Masonic Hall. A more enthusiastic group of fathers and sons I have never seen, and I made a real, earnest effort to impress upon the boys the big opportunities which America presents today. The executive, Mr. Oberteuffer, deserves special credit for having organized a Boy Scout Fireman Division of Scouting, and they gave me a demonstration of just how valuable their program is. Butte, Montana, February 10th. SHALL always remember my visit to Butte, Mont., as one of the bright spots in all of my experience in Scouting. In no place was I better impressed with a de- sire of men of affairs to deal fairly with the boy problem. The splendid $400,000 new Y. M. C. A. building, the ener- getic Superintendent of Schools and the splendid group of men serving as members of the local council all helped to convince me that the people of Butte recognize the value of boyhood. I shall never forget how the school janitor told me of his troop of thirty-two boys and the waiting list he had of boys waiting to become members. He was anxious to have every boy become thoroughly Americanized; and when men work with the earnestness he showed, America need have no concern as to its safety. Denver, Colorado, February 12th and 13th HERE were many distinctive things in con- nection with my trip to Denver, but space will not permit me to tell about all of them. I must mention three outstanding instances. First, my visit through a snowstorm to their week-end camp, which is ideally situated. Second, the most wonderful boys’ band I ever heard under the leadership of Mr. Innes, consisting of ninety pieces, and, third, a very pleasant conference I had with the authorities representing the Cath- olic Church, who made clear their interest in helping to have boys become all-around Ameri- can citizens with physical development and the training such as the Scout Movement affords. Omaha, Nebraska, February 14th and 15th. R. J. P. FREEMAN, the genial and effective District Executive for the Middle Western (Continued on page 62)

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16 T - if h HAs : = Dette] Burr 4 ic jBRC WSTER'S) de aay 328% . CAINTRE ! 4 iI FV | eee a ne H CHAPTER ONE BREWSTER 'S CENTRE \YBE you think just because scouts go camp- ing in the summertime, and taixe hikes and all that, that there’s nothing to do in the winter. But I'm always going to sticx up for winter, that’s one sure thing. Anyway, this story isn’t exactly a winter story; it’s a kind of a fall story—light weight. Maybe after this I'll write a heavy weight winter story. Dorry Benton (he’s in my patrol) says that if this story should run into the winter, I can use heavier paper for the last part of it. That fellow’s crazy. Believe me, there’s plenty happening in the fall and in the winter; look at nutting and skating and ice-boating. Only last winter there were two big fires here in Bridge- boro and one of them was the High School. Gee whiz, what more could you want? But the best fire I ever went to was when the Brewster’s Centre railroad station burned That three or four years ago, and the railroad decided that as long is there was going to be a big war in Europe, they wouldn’t down. was build a new station. It won't do you any good to look on the map for Brew- ster’s Centre, because you won't find it, Even with a microscope you couldn't find it. The reason you can’t find it is, because it isn’t there. I guess the men who made the map couldn’t make a small enough dot. That’s one about—maps. But I hate geography— thing I’m crazy But I’m crazy about apple dumplings. ind cough mixture. NYWAY, you'll have to take my word for it that Brewster's Centre is four or five stations above Bridgeboro. There isn’t any man named Brewster. He went out west about fifty years ago. I guess he forgot to take with him. Anyway, it’s up there. I guess nobody wants it There are about a dozen people up in Brewster’s Centre his centre who go to the city; gee, you can’t blame them. railroad put an old passenger car on a side track up there and boarded up the under part so you couldn't see the wheels, just the same as on a lunch wagon. They parti- tioned off part of the inside of it for a ticket office and made a window in the boards, and the rest of the car was a waiting room, There was a stove in the corner. It was like the Pennsylvania Station in New York, only differ- ent. They used the same old sign that used to be on the regular station and it looked funny sprawling all over the side of that car. It said. Buffalo 398 Mls.-BREWSTER’S CENTRE-N. Y. 30 Mls. You'd think that Brewster’s Centre was the centre of the whole earth. Anyhow, it showed two different ways of getting away from there. It’s a wonder it didn’t tell how far it is from Brewster’s Centre to Paris. I guess the moon is about ‘steen billion miles from Brewster’s Centre. But one thing, there’s a place where you get dandy ice cream cones up there. That’s all there is to this chapter. It isn’t much of a chapter, hey? But it’s big enough for Brewster’s Centre. It’s a kind of prologue chapter. It’s like Brewster’s Cen- tre, because nothing happens in it. The only thing that ever happened up there was the fire, and that happened three or four years ago. You can’t even smell the smoke in this chapter. But just you wait and see what happens. CHAPTER TWO Tue Hovsinc Prositem bg comes a lapse of three years—I got that out of the 4 Movies. Maybe if you’ve read all about our adven- ture you'll remember how my patrol, the Silver Foxes, So the’ amp ‘hiked home from Temple Camp last summer. Believe me, that hike. The other two patrols came home later by boat. They said they had more fun withqut us. I should worry about them. The second night after we were all home I started around to the church to troop’meeting and I met Pee-Wee Harris coming scout pace down through Terrace Street. He’s one of the raving Ravens. He was all dolled up like a Christmas tree, with his belt axe hanging to his belt and his scout knife dangling around his neck and his com- pass on his wrist like a wrist watch. I said, “ You look like a hardware store. you going? To chop down the North Pole?” He said, “ There’s bad news waiting for us at troop was some Where are meeting.” “Well, itll have to wait till we get there,” I told him; “T wouldn't go scout pace hunting for bad news.” Cracky, if that kid was on his way to the electric chair he’d go scout pace. “We've got to give up the troop room,” he said; “ Doc- tor Warren told my mother to-day. The men are going to use it for a club.” “Good night!’ I told him; “ Why should they We'll get out without any trouble; peace use a club? at any price.” “Tt’s a sociable club,” he said. “ Well,” I told him, “I wouldn’t want to get hit with a club no matter how sociable it is.” “It’s going to be called for forearm club,” he said. Gee, I had to laugh. “You. mean forum,” I said. “What are you trying to do? Scare the life out of me with clubs and forearms?” When we got to the troop room all the fellows were standing around and Mr. Ellsworth, our scoutmaster, was there to tell us the worst. E. said, “ Scouts, you'll all remember that this pleasant meeting place was put at our disposal by Doctor Warren to be used by us until it should be needed for other purposes.” (This is just what he said, because I asked him to write it out in my troop book afterward.) “ Doc- tor Warren that the plans for building a new church, being postponed on account of the cost of la- bor and materials, the use of this room practically every night in the week is im- perative. Since we are not actually a part of the church, I think we should in- sist on relinquishing it in favor of the many church activities for which this old building is all too small, We shall pres- ently find another home. I am sure that eveTy scout in this troop will join me in expressing our gratitude to Doctor War- ren and his good people for their interest in us and their hospitality. I am in hopes that the room in the Public Li- brary where the Red Cross ladies worked may be available to us. Meanwhile, we have the great scout roof over our heads —the blue heavens.” “ Believe me,” I said, “ that great scout roof is all right, only it leaks like the dickens. Anyway, we should worry; we'll find a place.” So that night we spent taking down our pictures and all our birch bark orna- ments, and packing our books and get- \ ting ready to move. We were up against the housing problem, that’s what Westy Martin said. now informs me By Percy KM. Fitzhugh Illustrated by Bert L. Salg He had a little beard like ay billy goat. Scouting Section of BOYS’ LIFE m Wineels The about school next day was Saturday. That’s the thing I like best Saturday. So I went inte the city to get a new scout suit on account of my other one being all torn from our long hike from camp. I came home on the Woolworth Special, that’s the 5-10 train. On the train I met Mr. John Temple. He's the man that started Temple Camp. He lives in Bridgeboro and he owns a lot of rail- roads and things. Anyway, he did, only the government took them, He should worry, he’s going to get them back. He’s head of the bank, too. Gee, I hope nobody takes that away from him. I've got fifty-seven dollars in that bank. He used to be mad at the scouts, but then he found out that he was mistaken and he went off and built Temple Camp just out of spite to himself, kind of. Whenever he sees me he’s awful nice. He said, “ Well, Roy, how are the scguts getting on:” I said, “ Believe me, they’re not getting on, they're get- ting out. We can't use the lecture room in the church any more. If we dont get the room where the Red Cross Nurses were, I don’t know where we'll meet. We'll meet in the sweet by and by, I guess.” He just began to laugh and he said, “ Property and Real Estate are hard to get just now. } high.” “ Gee whiz,” I told him, “I wouldn't care if it was real estate or imitation estate or any other kind if there was only a room on it.” Rentals are pretty E said, laughing all the while, “ Well now, I have an idea. How would this strike you? Thev’re fin- ishing the new station up at the Centre. What do you think of that old car for a meeting place? Just for a while, you know, till you can find a regular place some- where, It has a stove and seats and that strike you?” How would . . Oh, boy! “It strikes me so hard it makes a black and blue spot,” I said; “and that wouldn't be so far to go for meetings.” He said, “Oh, you wouldn’t have to go up there for meetings. If I can arrange to get it for you, I'll have it brought down to Bridgeboro. I don’t know where you could put it or just how you would move it away from the tracks, but it could be done.” Oh bibbie, wasn’t I excited! “We could put it in the field down by the river,” I said; “oh, it would be simply great!” Mr. Temple just laughed, and he said, “Well, don’t count too much upon it. Uncle Sam has a say in all these things nowadays. But I think perhaps I can arrange matters. The car is no use up there; it isn’t of much use anywhere. I'm afraid the difficult part would be in moving it away from the tracks when we get it to Bridgeboro. However, we'll see.” I was so excited that when we got to Bridgeboro I stayed on the train and went on up to Brewster’s Centre just to take a look at the car. As long as I was up there I thought I might as well get an ice cream cone at that place I told you about. Then I hiked it home. CHAPTER THREE “ A Wine-Awake Lor” N a couple of days I got a letter from Mr. Temple. It came from his office in New York. This is what it said: XUM

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YUM The Boys’ Scouts Magazine Dear Boy: I have arranged with the railroad people to let you boys have the Brewster’s Centre Station car. You will please accept it as a gift to your troop from myself. The freight which passes through Brewster’s Centre somewhere around 10 P. M. will take it on Friday night and leave it on the siding at Bridgeboro. I am going to talk with Mr. Ellsworth about the means of moving it from there to a suitable location. I am informed that the new station will be opened Friday morning, so if you and your companions wish to take possession Friday afternoon, you may do so. But do not make any alterations or bother the local agent un- til he gives you permission to go ahead. [ hope the troop will find this makeshift meeting place suitable till conditions are more favorable for finding a permanent headquarters. Best wishes to you. Joun TEeMpPLe H boy, isn’t he a peach of a man? I bet we hiked up to Brewster’s Centre a dozen times before Friday. I guess Pee-Wee thought the station would run away. He couldn't even wait till it got down to Bridgeboro, but asked the girl ticket agent if it would be all right for him to brings: some things up, and good night! he showed up Thursday afternoon with his moving picture outfit and a lot of other stuff. On Friday morning the new station was opened. It had a nice little ticket office for the girl to read novels in. So on Friday afternoon we all went up and took the boarding away from under the car and piled it inside, because we thought we might use it again. The part that was boarded off for a ticket office was at one end, and in the other part the seats were left just the same as in a regular car. It was nice in there, especially for meetings where some- hody had to talk to us, only in our troop most always everybody is talking at once, especially Pee-Wee. He talks so fast that he interrupts himself. \fter we got the windows washed and the boards from underneath piled inside and the little ticket office all cleaned out, it was about six o’clock. Westy Martin (he’s in my patrol) said it would be a lot of fun for some of us to stay and come down in the car. “Tl stay!” Pee-Wee shouted. “How about you?” Westy asked me. I said, “ We’re going to have apple turn- overs for dessert to-night, but I should worry, I'll stay.” OST of the fellows had to go home on i account of their lessons, but I didn’t have any lessons, because my teacher had to go to a lecture. That’s the only thing I like about lectures, Westy always does his les- sons right after school, before he goes out. Then in case he gets killed his lessons are done. He’s a careful kid. Anyway, all of us hate to do lessons on Saturday, because that’s scouting day. The fellows that said they'd stay were Pee-Wee Harris and Wig-Wag Weigand (there both raving Ravens), and Connie Bennett of the Elks (he wears glasses), and Westy Martin, and dear little Roy Blakely, that’s me. I use glasses, too—when I drink ice cream sodas. The rest of the troop went home and they said they'd all be down at the siding near the Bridgeboro Station early in the morning. Westy had his camp outfit along and we had a lot of fun that night cooking supper in that old car. Westy and Pee-Wee went up to the store and got some eggs and stuff, and I made a dandy omelet. I flopped it over all right and Connie Bennett said it would do for a good turn, because I hadn't done any good turn that day. Pee-Wee just turned around a couple of times and said that was his—he should worry. After supper we took a little hike in the woods but we didn’t stay very long, be- cause we were afraid that freight might come along ahead of time. Safety first. When we got back we sat around on the Z plush seats waiting for the freight and jollying Pee-Wee. It got to be about half past ten, but still the freight didn’t come, Every little while one of us would go out and hold an ear down to the track and listen. You can hear a train about ten miles off that way. , “If it’s coming at all it must be coming on tiptoe,” said, “Or else it’s wearing rubbers,” Wig answered back. : “Maybe it’s stalking a cow that’s on the track,” I said, and has to sneak along quietly. We should worry.” Pretty soon we began getting sleepy. Pee-Wee said he Wasn't exactly sleepy, but he guessed he’d lie down a little while. That was the end of him. If there had been an earthquake it wouldn’t have stirred him. The only thing that could have awakened him would be his own voice, only he doesn’t talk in his sleep. Pretty soon Wig said it was funny how Pee-Wee could fall asleep so easy and he guessed he'd just sprawl on one of the seats and think. Good night! but didn’t he snore while he was thinking. All of a sudden Westy went sliding down to the floor and I dragged him up ‘on the seat again. He was dead to the world, “ Believe me,” I said to Connie; “what do you know about that? I'll laugh if that freight comes along and gives us a good bunk. Look at that trio, will you?” He just didn’t answer me at all. “G-o-o-d night!” I said to myself; “wake me early mother dear.” : All of a sudden I happened to think of something that Mr. Temple said in a speech about the scouts being such a wide-awake lot. Gee whiz, I laughed so much that I just lay down on the seat and held my sides. That’s the last that J remember. I guess I fainted from laughing so hard, CHAPTER FOUR A Wito Nieiur OW T'll tell you just exactly what happened while I was lying on that seat. Charlie Chaplin came toe me and he said, “General Pershing says for you to get off Pretty soon ing down the ning after me of that barrel.” I said, “I won't get off of the barrel till I finish eating this apple.” Then he said, “If you don’t get off the barrel, we'll shoot the barrel out from under you.” So then General Pershing and Charlie Chaplin began wheeling a whole lot of cannons so as to make a big circle around me. And all the while Douglas Fairbanks was standing there laughing. Then they began shooting at the barrel, and every time a cannon ball hit the barrel it would joggle and almost shake me off. Sometimes the barrel stood up on edge and then a cannon ball would knock it back again and it would go dancing every which knocked over sideways and I was sprawling all over it trying to keep on it while it was roll- while Charlie Chaplin was run- me with his cane. way with me on it. I had to hang on for dear life. Pretty soon I got mad (gee whiz, you couldn’t blame me) and I threw the core of the apple at General Persh- ing, and he began to laugh. He said, “Never hit me!” Pretty soon the bar- rel got knocked over sideways and [ was sprawling all over it trying to keep on top while it rolled down a ‘hill. All the while Charlie Chaplin was running after me and trying to hook me with his cane and somebody shouted, “ What does it say on the waybill? Look on the waybill!’ And I could hear a sound like whistling. Then, good night! all of a sudden I went kerflop off the bar- rel. Just then a man shouted, “ All on!” IT guess he meant all off. Anyway, I didn’t care, because I was lying in an automobile and jogging along awful nice and easy. In the morning I was lying on the floor of the car with my arms around Connie Bennett’s leg. Every one of those four fellows was dead to the world. I pushed up the shutter that had slipped down, like they always do, and looked out of the window. Right outside was a_ barrel. But I didn’t see General Pershing. There was a big field right near, and over farther was a lake. It was a dandy lake, with woods on the opposite shore, There were big high mountains, too, all bright on top, because the sun was coming up over them. I went out on the platform and looked up the track. I could see way far off till the tracks went to a point. The car was on a siding. Not very far off I could see smoke curling up and I knew there must be a house there somewhere. On_ the other side from the lake was a store with a platform in front of it. It wasn’t open vet. WENT in and washed my hands and and face at the water cooler, then went out and looked again. But there wasn’t anything to see, only the lake and the woods and the smoke curling up among the trees and the store right near. I got out and looked at the side of the car. There was the big sign sprawling all over it. Buffalo 398 Mls.-BREWSTER’S CENTRE-N., Y. 30 Mls. That place wasn’t Bridgeboro, that was one sure thing. Because, gee whiz, I know Bridgeboro when I see it. And it wasn’t Brewster’s Centre, either. I went in and began shaking Pee-Wee, but it wasn’t any use. Then I gave Westy a good shove and I shouted at him, “ Wake up, the plot grows thicker. We’re some- where, but I don’t know where. We're lost, strayed or stolen. Wake up, your country needs you.” He sat up in the seat, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Then he said, kind of half asleep, “ I—s—s—s—a—t-- day? Wha—we—doin’—a—a—a—here?” I said, “It’s Saturday, and we’re here because we're here. But I don’t know where. There’s a lake and a lot of woods and some mountains.” “Tet’s see ’em,” he said, “Took out of the window,” IT told him. He just yawned, “ Where are they? Outside?” “ They’re on the landscape,” I told him; “ come on, we'll go and stalk them before they sneak away. Get up, you lazy . ig the barrel got hill. All the trying to hook (Continued on page 46)

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E ought to be pretty safe from the redskins since we hooked up with this other party back at the Platte,” Jim Coulter observed, “but these strangers have certainly got some hard-looking characters among ’em. This gold rush is bringing all the scum of the country. I'll bet all the jail- birds that are loose are headin’ for California right now.” Coulter would have come near winning his bet. Every desperado along the Missouri river—and the Missouri's shores were prolific of that kind of men—was mingling with thieves, vagabonds and unhung rascals of all types from all sections of the country, who were moving westward to the new gold fields that summer of 1849. Many of these unsavory characters were going by way of the Isthmus, but that route was expensive and offered little opportunity for a man to work his way, so the great majority of them were traveling with the overland caravans. None of them had succeeded in joining Coulter’s party, so far as he knew, but the outfit that had joined forces with him on the banks of the Platte was cursed with a large number of these undesirables. Baxter, who was the leader of this party, and the other wagon owners in his train, although almost outnumbered by the vicious element, had managed, not without a good deal of anxiety, to keep the upper hand, and they were glad to be reinforced by Coulter and his followers, who put the lawless contingent into a de- cided minority. 646 \XTER had seventy men with him, besides the wives and children of a few of the wagon owners. Almost a third of the men were outriders, mounted on horses of their own. Among these mounted men were to be found the worst characters of all, the offscouring of the frontiers One of this shady lot was a short, wiry, Gower, of civilization, gray-haired man who was known as “ Squinty ” the nickname being due to the fact that his expression was dominated by the decided squint of his little, unsteady eyes—green eyes they were, as green as a cat’s, and as hard and as treacherous, though it was rarely anybody got much of a look at them, so shifty were they and so often almost hidden by the squinting lids. Nobody seemed to know anything about Gower. He seldom spoke, and never about himself. But this fact, where there was many a man who had a black past to a eA II, mene = conceal, was not likely to arouse comment. The frontier bounded by the Missouri was full of men who had good reason to be reticent concerning themselves. Gower, like them, might have a past that was bet- ter unmentioned, or he might be un- communicative merely because it was his nature to be so. But his appear- ance was against him. The restless eyes, which never could meet another’s gaze, the thin- lipped, cruel mouth, the little, round, lobeless ears, the narrow forehead all spoke of evil, no matter how still his tongue might be. Gower had one peculiarity that only a close observer would have discovered. For a sixteen-year-old boy Tuck Simms had sharp, shrewd eyes in studying the ways of men, and the fact that there was one small detail about Gower that was out of the ordinary did not escape his notice. It surely would have escaped the notice of nine men out of ten, and probably would have been a long time in catching the attention of the remaining tenth, for it was the easiest singularity imaginable to overlook. A man might eat with Gower, and sleep with Gower, and be side by side with Gower for weeks at a stretch without becoming aware of what Tuck Simms had observed. It was a trifling thing, which might have no significance, but the more Tuck thought of it the more it stirred his curiosity. O make this discovery had taken considerable time and a good deal of study on Tuck’s part. Indeed, it would have been impossible for anybody to have made it at once. Tuck reached it by slow stages. Gower had a habit of sitting with his hands clasped at the back of his head while he puffed his pipe. In an idle moment he was raising his hands to this favorite position, when he caught sight of Tuck looking at him. Evidently Gower had believed he was alone, for he gave a little start, and there was an angry flash from the squinting eyes. It was something else, however, that Tuck noticed most, the sud- den closing of Gower’s upraised right hand. It seemed to Tuck a little unusual for a man to close his hand so very quickly on discovering that he was observed. Of course, anybody might shut his hand with a snap without mean- ing anything by it, but there was an indefinable something about the way Gower did it which, coupled with his star- tled, menacing expression, stirred Tuck’s interest for the moment. Though the incident was not worth thinking about very long, it served to bring Tuck’s attention to Gower’s right hand whenever he saw the man, and gradually the boy realized that Gower was careful always to keep that hand closed whenever anybody was looking at him. It took him several days to be convinced of that fact, because any man might go for an hour at a time without opening his hand. But every man does open his hand, enough to expose the palm of it, sometimes—several times an hour, perhaps. To notice that one never did do so would take not only an unusually observant pair of eyes, but eyes that had been put on the watch by such an incident as had set Tuck on the trail of Gower’s peculiarity. BOYS’ LIFE By Edward Leonard Illustrated by Remington Schuyler cmp ahaa Be Miettinen settles" 2 O NE night when a chill wind was sweeping down from the snow-covered tops of the Rocky Mountains Gower kindled a little fire of buffalo chips for himself, and sat hovering over it alone. From a few yards away in the dark Tuck caught sight of him and noticed that Gower’s hands were spread out over the flames. His hands were spread out because he thought nobody was near. Tuck decided that here was a possible opportunity of discovering why Gower when not alone kept his right hand closed. Dropping down on his hands and knees, he wormed his way silently over the short, dry buffalo grass toward the fire. The night was unusually dark, and he knew that if he could succeed in making no noise the chances were a hundred to one that Gower would not see him. He crawled as close to the fire as he dared; then lay motionless, watching. Gower’s hands were still spread out, but they were held horizontally over the flames. Tuck waited for them to be tilted upward. After a mo- ment Gower lifted them. Both palms were wide open toward Tuck. The boy stared at the man’s right hand in wonder. Across the palm, for its entire width, was branded the letter T, glowing vivid white in the light of the fire. For a few moments Tuck lay with his eyes fixed in fascination on that branded hand. T stood for thief. He did not have to think twice to realize that. But what fiendish sort of thievery could Gower have com- mitted that he had been cursed with this mark of shame that could never be erased? Perhaps, he thought, Gower had been convicted in some country where the laws desig- nated that form of punishment. But Tuck had never heard of such a country, though he had read enough to know that it was a common penalty in the Middle Ages. He gave up trying to solve the problem. Anyway, Gower was marked as a thief; there was no doubt of that. Being a discreet and close-mouthed youth, Tuck might have kept his discovery to himself if a robbery had not occurred soon afterward, The victim was “ Uncle” Ezra Bellamy. Uncle Ezra reported that while he was asleep under one of the wagons somebody had stolen his gold watch and his money belt, which contained three hundred dollars, almost all the money the old man possessed in the world. Tuck was fond of Uncle Ezra, and he made up his mind that he would try to recover the stolen prop- erty. He had no idea how he was going to do it, but he kept brooding over the matter, hoping that sooner or later he would be struck by an inspiration. OON he learned that Quantrell, Coulter and Baxter had been in consultation over the affair and that they were just as determined as he was to find the guilty man. Going in search of Quantrell, he found him at last in a lonely spot sprawled on the ground beside his horse. When anything worried Quantrell he always preferred his horse’s companionship to that of human beings, and it was plain from the expression of his face that something worried him now. “ What do you want?” he demanded, glancing sullenly at the boy. “Don’t want nothing,” replied Tuck. ; “Then what brings you here?” Quantrell was plainly annoyed at being disturbed. — > eR ES XUM

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~ nee XUM The Boy Scouts Magazine “Thought: maybe you wanted something,” said Tuck. “Been fretting a lét about that robbery, haven’t you?” Quantrell stared at the boy, but gave no answer. He seemed to be wondering whether it would be worth while to talk with him of the matter. “You're right, son,” he said after a long silence. “That robbery has got on my nerves. Now that such a thing has happened once it will happen again, and again, and we'll have to be on our guard all the way to California. Unless we get the thief.” “T reckon,” said Tuck, “that if somebody took a look inside of Gower’s right hand he might get an idea that would help.” Quantrell sprang to his feet and stood rigid, his eyes studying the boy’s face keenly. “What have you seen in Gower's right hand?” he demanded sharply. “Course I’m not accusing Gower,” said Tuck, “ but, if it'll be of any use to you, there’s the first letter of ‘ thief’ branded inside that hand.” Quantrell’s eyes fairly blazed. “Gower!” he exclaimed. “Gower! After all these years! Queer I never recognized him with that squint to give me the clew.” Without another word, he mounted his horse, and rode slowly away, apparently absorbed in thought. UCK did not see him again until evening, when many of the men, Quantrell, Coulter and Baxter among them, were gathered around the camp fire. The caravaners had halted at the only point on the Forty-niners’ trail where the Rockies are in view in all their grandeur. The trail goes over the Continental Divide with scarcely another glimpse of those mountains, for Sherman Pass, though it is eight thousand feet high, is only a plateau, from which the peaks are seldom seen. Not far away from the camp fire the billowy, white tops of the wagons showed dimly in the dark. A thin, strag- gling line of cottonwoods, barely discernible, marked the course of a creek-bed, dry as a bone in summer, but filled with a roaring torrent after Spring rains or thaws. The absolutely cloudless sky was thickly sprinkled with brilliant stars clear down to the horizon. For forty or fifty miles the plains were in view—not flat, as the caravaners had seen “Of all the steamboat towns Westport was the worst I ever saw,” Quantrell went on. “It was full of as bad a lot of ruffians as ever escaped the gallows. There was a notorious gang of land pirates there who had been making raids on rich wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail for years, and they had cleaned up a lot of money. This gang pricked up their ears and began to show a lot of interest when Don Gonzalo Hernandez, a rich Mexican, arrived from Santa Fe, where he had a big general mer- cantile business. In his train were a dozen wagons, his private coach, in which he traveled like a lord, and sev- eral servants, besides the teamsters. Westport’s thieves saw rich pickings in sight, and put their heads together to scheme out a way to get them. I’m going to tell you how they did it; and I’m going to tell you about a man who was one of that gang—a man with squinty eyes.” A; that Gower raised his head, and from the corners of his shifty eyes shot at Quantrell a swift, savage glance. “ A man with squinty eyes,” repeated Quantrell, looking hard at Gower, who had resumed his study of the flames. “But I haven’t got to him yet. We'll have to trail along with Don Gonzalo a little while before getting to the other fellow and his gang. “The Don and his train drifted through Westport, and went on to St. Louis, where he went once a year to buy goods. He was loaded down with silver money, and the land pirates knew he would have plenty of it left. “After about a couple of weeks back he came to Westport with his party on his way to Santa Fe. I was a boy at the time, not quite full grown, and had been working with an overland outfit as a driver. The day the Don blew into town he was a driver short, and I was out of a job. I went to him, and told him I was up against it—broke. He was a dapper little man with a lot of jewels on his fingers, and dangling from a chain, which he wore around his neck, was a gold cross. While he talked with me his fingers kept playing with this cross, and now and then his eyes would rest on it as if it was the most cherished thing he owned. And I guess it was. Though any one of the diamonds on his fingers must have been worth twenty times as much, I came to find out that he almost worshipped that cross. 19 “That Don was the kindest, biggest-hearted man I ever knew. From the very first he treated me as if I were his own son. He gave me the job as a driver at bigger wages than I’d ever dreamed of getting, advanced me money enough to buy everything I needed, and offered to take me into his home in Santa Fe and to give me a chance to work my way up in his business. It certainly looked as if a rosy future was ahead of me, all right. “It seemed to me the Don was taking big chances in making such a display of his wealth in a place like West- port, and I told him so. But he didn’t seem to be worried. He only laughed at me; said he'd been through that town a dozen times with many thousands of dollars in his money bags, and that it would be a clever thief that could rob him. But Don Gonzalo didnt know those land pirates. They were as bad a crew as the frontier ever produced, and they wouldn’t stop at murder when a chance came of making a big haul. “They didn’t dare carry out their plan in the State of Missouri, for they knew there were plenty of citizens along its border who would be ready to punish them unmerci- fully. Their only chance was to carry out their plot in the Indian country of Kansas, where there was prac- tically no law. So they went out as far as Cow Creek at the point where it runs into the Arkansas, and waited, for they knew that this was a dangerous point for the passage of freight caravans and coaches, and that the Don and his party would have the usual trouble and delay in getting across. “When we got to the creek and had made camp for the night there came a volley of shots from the land pirates’ ambush, and five of our men were hit. The rest of us—the few that were armed—began to return the fire. But we hadn’t a chance. In the first place the gang was so well concealed in the brush that we couldn’t see ‘em, and in the second place we were terribly outnumbered, as we could tell from the number of shots they were sending into us. j “Well, those bloody rascals almost wiped us out. I got a bullet in the shoulder, and counted myself lucky when I saw there wasn’t one of us who had escaped their shots except Don Gonzalo himself. They had a reason for letting the Don live—for a while, at least,— for they wanted to make him tell ’em where his money was. 66 S soon as no- them in Nebraska, but rising into high, long ridges and fall- ing into deep, wide hollows. Beyond them stood the Rocky Moun- tains’ main range, an immense blue wall towering out of the shades of night with jagged summits flecked with snow, snow that chilled the dry air of the sum- mer night, which was perfumed with the flowers and _ grasses of the plains. ° It was story-telling time in camp, and somebody called out, “Quantrell, you’ve had a lot more adventures than most of us. Let’s hear about one of ’em.” “Tm not feeling in that kind of a mood to-night,” came _ the answer. But the next mo- ment Quantrell changed his mind as he caught sight of Gower crouching close to the fire. “There was some- thing that happened once down on_ the Santa Fe Trail that I might tell you about,” he said. His giaze was fixed intently on Gower, who was squinting at the flames. A dead silence fell as the circle of men waited for him to continue. The smoke of many pipes drifted up into the dark. ditt ok ages “Don Gonzalo, with a cry, sprang at him like a wildcat.” body was left to return their fire they came out from the brush, and began to go through the wagons. But their leader made a_ bee line for the Don's coach, his gun under his arm and murder in his eyes. Squinty eyes they were, that never looked a man straight in the face; the shiftiest eyes I ever saw—until a little while ago.” Again Quantrell looked at Gower, whose head was bowed low and who, in the glow of the fire, seemed to shrink under his steady gaze. “The Don was sit- ting as still as a statue in his silken cushions, his fingers playing with the golden cross. “*Get out of that,’ Squint-eyes ordered, “The Don got out, and Squint-eyes, look- ing him over greed- ily, demanded _ his jewelled rings. Don Gonzalo, knowing that his life would be worth nothing if he should refuse, took the rings off and sur- rendered them—a for- tune for Squint-eyes right there. “But Squint-eyes wasn’t satisfied. He noticed the Don’s fin- gers, still playing with the cross, and Concluded on page 48

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2 im 19—. Lynn, Mass., October 15, EAR TED:— ‘There have farmers and and lawyers and preachers in the Soule family and in the old days I believe we boasted of a pirate ne a highvayman or two, but no artists, and I'd rather been doctors, ou didn't break the record. Am giad, though. the faculty didn’t fire you for carry- ing out that fool suggestion of mine of decorating the other boys’ wallpaper. Fifteen rooms is going some, ‘Ted, and the $30.00 you received wil! come in real handy to pay for new school books, won't it? \fter you've been tried here in the factory, to prove whether you can ever be made into a shoe manufacturer and we decide you can't, I have no objection to your join- ing the grave diggers’ union or driving a garbage cart, but as for your being an artist, you haven’t a chance. Your Ma says 1 am prejudiced against artists because they are temperamental, but so far as I can see the accent must all be on the first part of the word, for I never knew one who had brains enough to make a living. You remember Percy Benson, son of old man Benson, who lived on Ocean Street, don’t you? Well, Percy was a promising youngster until he began to draw the cover designs of the high school Clarion, although I told his father when he was born that the name Percy was too much of a handicap for any kid to carry success- fully. The old man allowed he'd never heard of a shoe manufacturer with that name, but said the boy’s Ma got it out of a book she’d heen reading and that settled it, and knowing Mrs. Benson I knew he was right. As I was saying, Perey did real well until he started drawing covers for the high school paper. After had accepted he swelled up like a pouter pigeon and nothing would do but he must go abroad to study. His father kicked like a steer; but in the end Percy and his mother prevailed and Lynn lost sight of him for a es these been few vears, HE brook trout—the fish with the beautiful spots of red and gold along his sides and a delicate blending of rich hues along the lower portion of his body—he's the fellow that causes the heart of every boy to beat faster when he knows one is snapping at his hook. And there’s hardly a boy who knows about trout but who hopes that some day he will be able to take home a big string of the beauties just as the older fishermen do. But he often wonders why now he cannot eatch them iust as well as his Uncle Henry or his big brother Tom; thes seem to get them every time they go after them, but it is only occasionally that he gets a fair-sized one. He can catch perch and pumpkin-seeds and dase as well, as the older fishermen; but trout—he can’t seem to get em, that’s all. And there’s something There’s one boy in town no older than he who can catch trout almost as well as his Uncle Henry or his big brother Tom. But this boy doesn’t seem to want him along when he goes to the brooks. He asked him to go with him once, but never again. And, of course, he had enough pride not to ask to go at any other times. more he wonders about, too. I shall first tell why this boy who wanted to catch trout, but couldn't, failed. He could eatch dase and But pumpkin-seeds and perch, a lot of them—very true. each of these classes of fish is wholly different than trout. Among the former, in order to catch them in any great numbers one doesn’t first have to study their na- tures very deeply, for they are simple and open and they may be found in almost any pond or lake or river, and in some still-running brooks, especially dase. But with trout this is not so. A trout that has grown to a fair size is wonderfully sharp-witted and very, very sly. And he is easily frightened; it might almost be truthfully said that “he is afraid of his own shadow.” Surely, as every experienced fisherman knows so well, he is afraid of any shadow made in any way by a fisherman. Even the slightest shadow cast by a section of a fisher- man’s rod will nearly always cause him to dart to a hiding- place under a bank or under a tree root or some other refuge of safety where the lure of the angler cannot fol- low. A noise in the water near him will also give him a big scare or else. make him acutely suspicious. Yet when there has been no noise or no shadow to scare him or to arouse his suspicions, he is likely to be TD By G. G. L. Illustrated by Judy Collins | | | lt eat = 4 . | zm + } iA } Mrs. Benson choked, ined, strangled OR a time I used to ask the old man how Percy was getting along with his painting, but as he always changed the subject to the leather market, I soon quit. Trout Fishing for Boys By Ernest Warren Brockway a victim thereof just the same; or, he is suspicious, but not at all times frightened. If, for illustration, he is hungry and a big fat worm is washed along by the cur- rent right in front of his mouth he doesn’t think that a sufficient reason for him to jump or dart quickly for the choice morsel and catch it and swallow it as quickly as a chicken would a bug. Sometimes big worms are not such choice eating as they appear to be at first sight; there’s something about them oftentimes that hurts pain- fully; he has had one experience, and possibly more than one, which has taught him the worth of being cautious when possible danger may be lurking about. In this, at times, he would seem _ to almost human intelligence. possess an HEREFORE, any intelligent boy may readily under- stand that he as a fisherman must be cautious lest he projects shadows over the brook, make any unnecessary disturbances in the water, and he must learn how best to tempt the appetite of Mr. Trout. By no means, though, is this all there is to know if one would catch trout successfully. One of the most essential things to learn besides caution is a knowledge of brooks; and types of brooks are so varied that this requires much thought and observation. There are big tumbling brooks and big s:ncoth-flowing brooks; there are small hillside that are all commotion as_ they course their way down over big stones and huge boulders; and there are little deep quiet-flowing meadow streams. Trout are caught more plentifully in some of these early in the season and in others, later in the season, depending largely on weather conditions. Experienced fishermen select their brooks for the pe- riods they are to fish just as carefully as they select the weather when they would visit certain brooks. For in- stance, it is invariably true that for very early season fishing small brooks are best result bringers; or, if one is to fish a large brook early, he should give most of his time to its headwaters. Later, the trout drop down stream where exists a greater volume of water. In all brooks, too, there are favorite places for trout to linger—places where they may be on the watch for brooks BOYS’ LIFE rs) Wy urriculum We Yom One day after Percy had been gone about three years, | came home early and found your Ma holding a tea fight in the parlor. After balancing a cup on my knees without spilling more than half of its contents, and getting myself so smeared with the frosting of the cake I was supposed to eat that I'd have given ten dollars for a shower bath, the conversation lulled and, remembering your Ma had told me I never talked enough in society, I asked Mrs. Benson how Percy was doing. Ted, it tickled her most to pieces, and she opened up a barrage of technique, color, fore- gs shorting and high lights, winding up with the \ astonishing fact that one of Percy's pictures Y tay had been hung in a saloon. ; I was gasping for breath like a marathon eal runner at the end of the twenty-third mile, but a your Ma was all smiles, so I thought I must \ be making a hit. \ That's where I went wrong, and while you're about it, Ted, just paste this in your hat for future reference. When a fellow begins to be pleased with himself he’s in as much danger as a fat boy running tiddelies on early Novem- ber ice. As saloon was the only word in the Benson cannonade that I understood, I replied when the bombardment was over. “Glad to hear it, I'm sure. If the French brewers are paying him for pictures to hang in their saloons, he should be able to paint some snappy clothing ads for American manu- facturers before long.” Mrs. Benson choked, gasped, strangled and grew so red in the face I thought she was going to have apoplexy. Then she out of her chair with one word, “Insulting!” and made for the door with your Ma one jump behind imploring her to stay. (Concluded on page 48) bounced worms and bugs and other kinds of food as they are brought down stream by the current—such as at the heads of pools into which flows fast water; at the lower side of boulders which project above the water; in shallow rifles which are not too boisterous. Of course, these conditions vary to a considerable degree in the rising and falling of the water occasioned by rain or! lack of rain. But all of these things only experience can teach successfully. An experienced angler who.truly loves the sport will oftentimes know that a trout may be taken from a cer- tain formation of water. He senses it intuitively. HIS is why older fishermen with years of experience will catch trout when the average boy cannot. It has taken the older fisherman a long time probably to learn the many essential lessons that must be learned in order to feel a confidence in one’s self; in being able to make not an occasional fair catch, but to maintain a fair average whenever a stream is visited. In short, successful trout fishing is an art that does not come by luck; only careful observation and an intelligent study of the trout and the brooks can bring it. The answer, then, to the wonder- ment of the boy as to why he cannot score catches equal to older fishermen is that he has not learned his lessons. And the answer as to why one boy in town makes good catches is just this: He was an exception to the average boy in that he knew at the start that successful trout fishing had to be learned; and he began studying it the first time he wet his hook; he has kept studying, too, every minute during his fishing. Though young in years he is old in observation and study. He doesn’t ask the other boy to join him in his fishing trips because when he took him along once he was noisy and didn’t try to keep from being seen by the trout. He should have been ‘ cautioned by the experienced boy, but he was not. As the latter has had to learn by himself all that he knows, he is, unfortunately, rather selfish in not wanting to teach other boys what he had to work out alone. Perhaps I have given the impression that trout fishing is a sport very difficult to master and may tend to dis- courage some in trying to learn it. If so, I am regretful indeed, for it is not difficult for any boy who truly wants to learn it; he will get so much fun out of it that there will be no difficulty. When anything “is fun,” that’s al- ways so, isn’t it? Or EE aNgI eo ++ XUM

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XUM lar UMPING Gartersnakes !” Paymaster Wendell came into the time- keeper's office on the Lindley | Cééstiiiction + Company's works on Runaway river, Slammed his satchel on a table and uttered his favorite expletive in a tone which caused the bookkeeper to demand in astonishment: “What's the matter now?” “Played the bonehead for fair, that’s all,’ was the reply. “I came away from town and left the most im- portant part of the payroll money behind.” “Well, it will be there when you get back, won't it? “That’s not the trouble. We promised that two hun- dred men who came here from Seattle to refund their The time is up today and I had the money all separate, each fel- fares if they stayed on the job for sixty days. low’s five spot in an envelope, so that when paying off tonight IT could hand it over with the rest of his money and avoid all confusion. I packed all the envelopes nicely in a box and then came away and forgot it. If those fellows see me going back to the city they will quit in a bunch, for some sneak has been circulating reports that the company is none too sound financially. If they don’t get it tonight they will come in for it tomorrow morning and will get back to work in just about one week. We are as close to our time limit for the completion of this job as we dare run and any real delay in completing this forfeit of fifty thousand dollars, according to the contract.” “And the new superintendent just got here this after- canal in the next two weeks means a noon about four o’clock,’ broke in the timekeeper, who had entered the office in time to hear the dismal tidings. igrmon the paymaster made a groaning appeal to his ri favorite reptile, Dut no inspiration seemed to come from that source. “If there was only some one we could send,” hazarded the timekeeper. “The sticker is that the only horse that could make it in time to be of any use is your mare, Maud, but there is no one here who can handle her except yourself. I know she would string me all along the road if I tried to drive her, and all the other horses are hopeless.” “Jack Ferris can do anything he wants to with her,” said Mr. Wendell thoughtfully. “Who? The corral-dog?” using the title bestowed in the west on the man in charge of the stables. “Why, he is only a kid.” “He's an old-fashioned baby just the same and IT have a good notion to take a chance on him.” “But Mr. Wendell,’ protested the time-keeper, “there have been a dozen hold-ups on that nine-mile stretch between here and the city in the last month, and the robber has never been caught. ‘They say he works with a bicycle and has a different accomplice every time, and just think what a nice, handy sum a thousand dollars, all in fives, would be to negotiate.” “Kven at that, a boy would be less liable to attract suspicion than a grown person. I, for instance, would be a marked man and anyhow, it is a groundhog case, Jack’s Bandit By Ed. L. Carson Illustrated by Joseph Easley so here is where I dig in. Send for Jack.” Jack Ferris was a western product about sixteen years old and well developed for his age. In response to the summons he came into‘the office with an air of self-reliance which might easily have been mistaken for impudence. Hastily the difficulty was explained, 6¢C’URE T'll go.” he said, cheerfully. “TI can make the Ss trip in two hours or a little better, and you can stall off the Seattle bunch till I get back. ‘Tell them they are to be paid last so as not to get them mixed with the other bohunks. Don’t worry about anything that hold-up guy can do,” he added as he patted a bulge in his shirt under his left arm. “The night he holds me up is positively his farewell performance.” “Do nothing to attract attention,’ begged Mr. Wen- dell, “and above all take no chances. Let the money go if you have to and remember that the best way to handle trouble is to!dodge it.” “And the best way to meet trouble is to be prepared for it,’ grinned Jack as he started for the door. Jack Ferris was a lover of horses and none knew this better than the animals under his charge. Mr. Wendell’s mare, Maud, no matter how fractious she might be with any other than her master, had come to know the boy who soothed her restlessness with nicé noises and pleasant pats and who left her with a farewell rub and an apple, so that when he had her hitched to the light buggy (for this was before the days of the auto), she seemed as much at ease as she would have been with her regular driver. The road from the camp, where the big power canal was being constructed, to the city, which was to be sup- plied with the electricity there generated, led through a growth of scrub cedar for about half a mile to where it joined the main highway to town. It was not yet dark and as he turned from the side road Jack was not surprised when he was hailed by a respectable looking man who asked him to give him a lift. Common courtesy demanded of Jack that he accede to this request, but before. they had gone far he became obsessed with the feeling that he was being studied if not watched. The stranger made an attempt at conversation by stating that he had been sud- denly called to town, but somehow this explanation did not ring true. Unconcerned, however, Jack reflected that nothing could happen before he got the money. On the return trip was the time when he would be required to keep his wits about him and take no chances. A FEW blocks from the city offices of the construc- tion company the stranger asked to be let out, saying that here was where he wished to stop. This Jack willingly did but, as he stopped the rig, he recalled that, when they first met, the stranger had told him that his errand lay in a different direction. Jack made no com- ment on this. He was getting rid of the fellow which was all he wanted, so, driving on to the office, he tied his horse and went inside where an assistant cashier was waiting for him as instructed by a telephone message from Mr. Wendell at the works. precious envelopes was wrapped up in an old newspaper to make it as inconspicuous as possible, but when Jack returned to his horse he was greatly surprised to find his passenger of the incoming trip comfortably esconsed on the seat of the buggy. The box containing the “T finished my business rather sooner than I expected,” was his greeting, “and took the liberty of imposing on your good nature for a ride back to the camp.” “That’s all right with me,” growled Jack, which was not exactly the truth. “ May as well have company, I sup- pose,” but to himself he added, “you start anything, old timer, and you can leave it to me to finish it.” Carefully he arranged the lap robe, giving himself a liberal share, for the month was October and with the dark came chill. Then, as they left the lights of the city, he slipped the hard object which had been distending his shirt when he talked to Mr. Wendell, from under his arm into his right hand, driving easily and skillfully with his left. The mare lived up to her reputation as a roadster and threw the miles behind her with a light, swinging trot which would have excited the admiration of the most amateur of horsemen. UT Jack was not thinking of his horse. His com- panion’s peculiar actions all passed in review and, while nothing in his attitude betrayed his uneasiness, he was certainly sitting very light and watching closely for any sign or sound which might be a signal to an accom- plice along the road. The stranger seemed to be entirely at ease, however, and even tried to start a conversation in spite of the boy’s sullen and preoccupied attitude. Only once did he succeed in arousing any interest in his remarks, This was when they were passing along a part of the road with trees on both sides and where the dark- ness was doubled in intensity and he remarked: “This would be an ideal place for a hold-up.” “No chance,” retorted Jack with more warmth than the occasion seemed to demand. “Anybody with a lick of sense would be looking for it in just such a place as this and would be right on the watch. No, sir, the place for that kind of thing would be right out in the open.” The stranger chuckled and agreed but Jack’s right hand clenched tighter on the object it held and the set

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22 of his jaw told only too plainly that Mr. Wendell’s order to give up the money rather than take any risks would never be obeyed. Nothing further was said nor did any other incident mark the remainder of the ticklish trip, but when they drove into camp a quarter of an hour later and Jack jumped from the buggy to run into the office with his precious parcel safe and sound, leaving the stranger to tie the horse, his right arm was so stiff that it seemed as though it would break before it would bend, while on the was

his forehead perspiration standing in great beads regardless of the of the evening. coolness af OOD boy, Jack!” cried Mr. Wen- dell at the sight of him and_ his burden. “ Had no trouble after all, I suppose,” and . F = >* then catching a we a - closer glance at y the boy he added, = : “or did you?” ti “I dont know , whether I did or not,” was the somewhat mysti- fying reply, and in a_ few low, earnest sentences he told the story of his passenger. “T’ve seen that Indian before,” he concluded, “I saw him hanging around the works this afternoon and sized him up as a bad man to have trouble with. Just the same, he would have had the worst end of it if he had started anything, for I drove all the way from town with this,” producing a very business- like looking automatic pistol, “ within an inch of his gizzard. He must have felt it punch him in the ribs once in awhile when the buggy hit a rut. Wanted to know why I drove Jonesy’s It wasn’t for the E ought to have known better. lack of warning. The ranchers told us Border Mexicans could not be trusted. And there was the story Connerton used to tell about the spigotties. Connerton had been in the Islands. A whole battalion had been shot up at mess by the Filipinos. They had begun to get careless and got caught in the mess-shed with nothing but table knives to fight with. You probably remember, now. It wasn’t a pleasant yarn and old Connerton, who had been our drill sergeant and just naturally came along with the Troop when we were ordered down Mexico way before the Big War, did not mean it to be, for he was afraid the Mexicans, who were, he claimed, first cousin to the spigotties, would catch us off our guard and give us the same treatment. We were careful, at first, being a single troop two days from our base and in the middle of an ugly lot of moun- tains that the greasers knew and we did not. We had made camp in a little village of Mexicans with a name longer than the main street. There was a store with a walled yard on one side of us and a *dobe house with a barnyard on the other side. The medico told the Old Man that he did not think the location very healthy, but the C. O. came back with a claim that the unhealthiest thing in that country was the Mexicans and he meant to have some protection for his flanks even if the cook did serve up a fly in the hash now and then. We watered our animals at a creek. They called it a river down there but you could jump your horse across it except right after a cloud-burst. It was not more than a couple of hundred yards from camp but we always wore our automatics even when we rode down bareback, and at first a detachment of the guard went with us with Spring- fields. But you know how you get used to anything after you with one hand and I told him you always drove that way and I was humoring the mare. Coming through Clark’s Bush he made a dizzy crack about that being a good place for a hold-up. If he had so much as coughed I would have cut loose, knowing that at short range like that I would blow him out of the buggy while the mare would a As he sought his bunk that night Jack smiled in the darkness streak it so fast when she heard the shot that no bullet ever fired could catch us. I felt perfectly safe, but he was sure flirting with the coroner’s jury when he made that break and—gee whiz,” pointing to the stranger who had entered quietly and had been listening with an air of keen interest, “there he is now!”

There was something like five have had it long enough. hundred natives scattered about in the mesquit of that township and maybe a dozen whites. The Mexicans were as peaceful as lambs although the ranchers said they were getting pretty chesty before we came. Our patrols went down through the passes to the barbed wire fence three times a week and outside a few half-dressed soldats the other side of the line we did not see an armed Mexican. S O the Old Man began to let up a bit. He took the J guard off the water-call and let the men ride down with watering-bridles and blankets. The fatigue-guard who had been wearing belts and pistols while they cleaned up the picket-line kicked to the Top and the Old Man gave in and let them work without arms. Then the men used to get leave to go down and bathe in the creek. There was not enough water there to much more than wash your feet but that helped. As for us non-coms if we wanted an afternoon off to go up the valley hunting we usually got it. That may seem pretty careless, going off with twelve-gauges that we borrowed from the store and duck-shot. But if it had not been for that I guess the whole outfit might have been wiped out when that bunch thought they had us asleep— that and Jonesy’s smile. “ Jonesy” was the bugler. He was as fond of his little brass horn as he was of old “ Ginger,” his cayuse, and that was about as strong as you could put it. He tented with us Sergeants and he used to read us the words to the calls out of his little bock nivhts. Every time he sounded off (he would not let you call it “ blow”) we had to tell him just how good or bad it was and when he ‘broke’ a note it took him a day to get over it. That was one side of Jonesy, but the other was all fun. He couldn’t talk without laughing and there was not a man in camp from the C. O. down but what fell for him.

BOY’S LIFE S they looked at the newcomer there was dead silence for a moment. Then both Mr. Wendell and the time- keeper broke into roars of uncontrollable laughter, while Jack, with his automatic still in his hand, looked from one to the other in astonishment. When breathlessness de- manded comparative silence, he demanded: “ Well, what’s the giddy joke?” “Why, Jack,” gasped Mr. Wendell, “that is Mr. Mac- Arthur, the new superintendent of construction. He just got here this afternoon.” “That being the case,” retorted Jack, as he put away his gun, “ right here is where I lose my job.” “Tt is all true,” smiled the new official, coming forward. “ When I learned of the plan to send you over that robber-in- fested road alone with all that money I made up my mind to go along. Before we were half- 7 way back I was convinced that I had taken all my trouble for nothing, for I now believe you capable of trans- porting a_ bank across the conti- nent. If I had known, however, what that hard object was that kept digging me in the side I would have ex- plained much sooner. As it was I wanted you to carry the job through without my help. You will certainly lose your job as stable boss for what you did tonight. I’m going to make it my first business with this firm to put a boy like you right where he belongs.” As he sought his bunk that night Jack smiled in the darkness, and remarked to himself: “That means to get a bunch of books and start study- ing, for nobody knows how much trouble I may run up against on this new job and the best way to meet trouble is to be prepared for it.” By Edwin Cole Illustrated by Harold Anderson ~~ —

P —_o— XS ‘nad

It was a fact that he was the only white man in that coun- try that I ever saw make a Mexican laugh and their kids put him above the C. O. It was out at the Lake that Jonesy first met the “ Cabrita.” The “ Lake” was a pond the cattle company had made by damming up the creek and being the only body of water larger than a water-hole within a hundred miles or so, the ducks used it as a relay point between the Gulf of California and stations farther north. It had been there some years and willows had sprung up .around its edges. We used to lie in these and wait for the wild-fowl to wing over. ONESY had asked to come with us and one day we borrowed an old Spencer pump-gun for him and took him along. We posted him on a little point that ran out into the Lake and got under cover ourselves. <A_ fine brace of mallards camé fluttering down to light and I was getting ready to step out and let go when I heard that giggle of Jonesy’s. The duck did, too, and flew away. I investigated then and came upon the bugler sitting with his gun leaning against a mesquite bush talking some kind of baby-talk to a kid maybe twelve or thirteen years old. The boy could not talk English and Jonesy could not talk Spanish, so he was trying him out with a mixture of Polock and Wop and baby-talk. They were having a good time, anyway. Jonesy was grinning all over his face and the little Indian’s black eyes were popping out of his head and he watched Jonesy like a rabbit watches a rat- tler only he didn’t seem scared at all. “Why didn’t you shoot?” I asked him, still thinking of that fine brace of mallards. “Shoot what?” asked Jonesy looking up from the kid surprised. “Two ducks almost lit on your nose,” I said.

Fe le LER XUM

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XUM ‘The Boy Scouts’ Magazine “Did they? Say what’s the Mex. for kid?” That’s the kind of hunter he was. I told him Cabrita instead of Muchacho and that’s what Jonesy named him. It was a month before he knew that he had been calling the boy a goat. I saw Cabrita in camp often after that. Jonesy made a lot of him. He used to bring him in uur tent but no one but Jonesy could get a smile out of him. Once we went by the ’dobe where he lived. There were a half a dozen kids besides Cabrita. The father and mother were there, too. Yaqui, mostly, I guessed them to be. We were off on horse-exercise and Jonesy was up at his post be- hind the captain. The Old Man thought he was getting quite a reception for the whole bunch were showing their white teeth against their black skins. But it was for Jonesy and not the C. O. Jonesy pulled off a long wink that made them grin all the wider and started the Troop grinning, too. It was the first time we ever felt friendly to- ward the Mexicans or they looked so toward us. XHEN I noticed a non-com’s 1 whistle hanging around the Muchacho’s neck by its chain and that did not make me feel so pleased because mine had disap- peared a few days before. I spoke to Jonesy about it when I got a chance. He only giggled and asked me what had happened to that nut-cake his sister had sent down to him the week before. Ours was a great tent for practical jokes and I did know more about that cake than I ought to, so I let it go at that and got another from the Q. M. It was only about a week after that that Stoner, a rancher, started off with the C. O. and the Troop on a new trail down into Bear Valley. They were to be gone two days. I guess I won’t forget that time right away. I have seen a good many worse since, but that was be- fore we had gone up against the boches and when we had an idea that Mexican bandits were about as mean a critter as walked on two legs or abused a dumb animal on four, Stoner and the Captain had been talking over that trip for quite a while. The rancher claimed he knew a trail that we had never tried out and that had any one we had been over beaten for natural scenery. Also it was one that the Mexicans used sometimes when they came over the Border on business they did not want to advertise. That being so, the Old Man thought it best to go well heeled so he took most of the Troop along with him. About all that was left then was the guard and the fatigue. The Lieutenant was O. D. but he had had a bad fall and was hobbling about with a cane. I had come in from a two-day patrol the day before and was left behind as acting Top. I hated to miss the trip but it meant a two days rest, anyway, unless some inspecting officer should show up, and so I looked forward to little time to go over my leather and write a few letters. You never can tell in this man’s army. T was after evening mess when Cabrita rode in. I was sitting out in front of the pyramidal watching the men trying to rope each other in the company street. You could not go from the tents to the picket-line at that time of day without getting 4a noose over your shoulders or around your foot for every man in the out- fit was trying to copy the punch- ers. Cabrita came tearing in on a spotted pony. No saddle, not even a_ bridle, mly a_ single- roped halter, but he handled the little cayuse as though it had a steering wheel and pull- They went piling through leaving the camp as though ed up before me to a dead stop like an expert horseman. He took a look in the tent without saying a word. Then he looked around at the men with the ropes but he didn’t find what he wanted. “ Jon-a-sey ” he said, putting his whole mouth into it. I shook my head with a grin. He looked so serious. His cayuse was alather and the sombrero that even a Mexican kid never seems to travel without was gone from his head. “ He’s gone down to Bear Valley,” I said. He whisked around as though his pony was on a pivot and was away again. Two or three of the men tried to rope him as he rode out but he dodged them and the last I saw of him he was heading back the way he had come. That was kind of funny, but after all, the Mexican kids were all proud of their horsemanship, as was right they should be for they certainly could ride; and they liked to show it off. As for his not stopping that was natural enough for Jonesy was the only man in the Troop that he would talk to. So I put it down for the nature of the beast and even made up a little story to tell Jonesy about missing a bid to dinner and I going in his place. We went to bed without taps that night. It was kind of lonesome in the tent, for Burke, the only other sergeant, left in camp, was in the guard tent and I was alone. I made up for it though by getting enough blankets for once, as the nights got good and cold up there in the mountains before morning. I heard the sentry on Post No. 1, which was the main street of the village just out- side the line of tents, go by once or twice and then I dropped off. DO not know what time it was I woke up or why, for that matter. All I know is I lay there all tensed up. ‘There were not many noises around that village at night, except once in a while when the natives had a fandango on. And now it was so still that it hurt. Then I heard the man on No. 1 Post sing out “ Halt! Who’s there?” I listened for the answer. It might be the Lieutenant, I knew, for he had a way of keeping the guard on their toes by looking them over at any time of night. The Old. Man took most of the Troop with him it had been struck by a cyclone 23 But there was no answer and I sat up in bed. Then the sentry called out again. It was “Corporal of the Guard, Post No. 1, Drunken man,” this time. I did not have time to wonder what a drunken Mexican might be doing around at that time of night before there was a yell that made my hair stand up. It was the sentry and I knew he was knifed. I did not wait to dress. I got into my shoes without lacing them, \ grabbed my Springfield and cart- | ridge-belt and beat it outside. I heard the Lieutenant then. 4 “Turn out the guard,” he was a yelling. Out by the picket line in the rear of the Camp a gun went off and then another. Then through the tents I caught sight of a mob of mounted men that looked like a cattle stampede coming up the main street, yelling and shooting off their guns, The Lieutenant was as much a stickler for form as any other West Pointer but he had good horse-sense, too. He knew there was no time for a formation. “Lie flat and fire at will!’ he yelled and the men needed no second invitation. The guard and those who had tumbled out of the tents began to pump lead and nickel into the yelling mob of horsemen. But they kept right on coming. I guess there was so many of them the ones in front could not have stopped if they had wanted to. They piled in between the tents, yelling like Indians and blazing away without taking aim. iy was everyone for himself, then. Half the tents were down for the Mexicans’ horses had gone through tent- ropes and everything else, but the canvas. The men were taking shelter behind this and banging away with the automatics now. I had got as far as the officers’ tents when they struck and there stood the Lieutenant leaning on his cane and blazing away with an old Colt forty-five frontier that he used in place of the automatic. He had emptied his re- volver and they were right on him when I pulled him down behind the canvas. I had got my second clip in the automatic by this time, having fired between the tents as I ran, and as fast as they came through I emptied a saddle. Down the street the men were doing the same, I learned afterwards, and the bandits found it too hot to stop. They went piling through, leaving the camp as though it had been struck by a cyclone and on out to the picket- line. They slashed the halter-shanks right and left and five minutes later they were gone and our horses with them. But we were not worrying so much about that at the time. All we were thinking about was a return visit. The Lieutenant led us all out to the forage pile where we made a regular fogtress of the baled hay and straw and bags of oats. E took our wounded with us but we did not bother with the enemy, not just then. They say it takes ten thousand bullets to get one man in a battle and I guess the per cent was higher than that with the Mexicans for they had not killed anyone and the only men who were injured was Briggs, the sentry on Post No. 1, who had a knife wound that had just missed his heart, and O’Brien who had_ been on guard at the further end of the picket-line from camp, who had a bullet in the thigh and had been ridden down to boot. But these chaps were given at- tention right off and then we tucked them away where : they could rest * and nurse their troubles and try to cheer up. By the time (Continued on page 42)

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BOYS’ LIFE The Cave of the Golden Dragons By Lynn Gunnison PART II l jf oe East- ward a faint touch of se crept up, warming the cold, drab sky. The shadows igging the mountain-side faded slow ly. \ clump of silver fir stood fort] the heavy flower clumps of a grove of enormous rhodo- dendrons lightened from black to a deep blood-red. Brighter grew the heavens, t rose turned to crimson shot with gold. Like molten metal it spread on the sur- face of the river below— that uncanny stream, so full of life and swift, pulsing movement, which, abruptly, neredibly, plunged beneath the whole great mass of rock and earth tation and vanished out of sight. and vege Then swiftly came the sun radiant, gleaming, dis- persing the last faint shad- ws with its briliance. The golden rays shot between two massive, ruined towers a little further up the moun- tain and bathed the rhodo- dendrons in a glow of light which brought out to perfec- tion their amazing crimson beauty. An instant later the branches of the shrub- bery parted ind = Larry Dovle stepped forth. \ different Larry, from the one who had ridden forth from Tsin- tang nearly forty-eight hours His trim Norfolk in several places and splashed all ominous splotches rivalling in hue the crimson flowers quite, so gavly before. was stained with mould, torn down one side with about him. His hat was gone; his hair disordered. His jaw was square—pugnacious; his eyes had turned cold, watchful, steely gray. For a moment he stood motionless, one hand thrust deep into his jacket pocket, which bulged significantly, the mountainside with swift, keen Presently he relaxed a little and while he searched glances. glanced back shoulder. over one “All right, Kid,” he said in a low tone. “ Nothing in sight.” There was a rustle and McLean’s face appeared, framed in the green about him. Across one cheek was a long red gash. He also was bareheaded and disheveled. “It's the Chinaman who got away that’s fretting me,’ observed Doyle in that same guarded tone. “The other was a poor prune, but the fellow with the cut ear is a regular devil if you ask me.” “You think he’s followed us?” “Tt seems likely, though of course we haven’t laid eyes They certainly had some object in I'd give a on him since the scrap. leading us astray and then trying to knife us. lot to know whether they were just after our money or whether it’s plot hatched in Tsin-tang to keep us iway from this mountain. In either case they didn’t suc- ceed, and old Half Ear rather seemed like a chap who’d hy persistent.” Some IM drew a long breath. “TI can’t get over the luck of your being awake. But for that our little picnic would lave ended short and sharp.” Larry “You’ve said it. The Doyles’ good fairy must have been on the job keeping my eyes : “ You certainly did smiled grimly. open He surveyed the boy curiously. pretty well for a fellow who’s travelling for his health,” he cemarked, “I didn’t notice any particular signs of nerves?” Shucks! I'm fit as a fiddle. cured; only this busi- McLean snorted, “Nerves! I could start for home this minute ness is too doggone interesting. That’s the old monastery up there, isn’t it? I wonder = He broke off abruptly as Larry gripped him suddenly by the arm. “ Duck!” whispered the man, dragging him down ixto the bus}-es. “ Larry’s fingers closed about the skinny throat, and he bore the fellow backward to the floor.? ancient with narrow valley there wound an relic of a Here and there it bushes or clumps of wiry grass. In places fallen rocks cluttered it, or mounds of earth washed down by mountain torrents, but in the main it was surprisingly clear and open. It led, as far as they had been able to determine before darkness caught them the night before, straight up from the valley to the plateau on which stood the ruins of Up from the road. was overgrown the old monastery. \long this road a solitary figure had just come into sight—a tall, thin Chinaman who moved swiftly and stead- ily up the grade. Watching closely through the screen of leaves, Larry presently had his suspicious confirmed. It was the crop-eared Chinaman they had just been dis- cussing. He looked neither to the right nor left, and presently passing their hiding place, he mounted the final ascent of the road and disappeared through a ruined gateway set in a wall between the two square towers. For ten minutes the two Americans lay in hiding, dis- The Chinaman did not His manner, on cussing the situation in whispers. seem to be searching for them after all. the contrary, was that of one making for a certain goal. {nd since they knew that his only weapon was a slim, mur- derous knife, they presently decided to venture forth and follow him. Keeping cautiously to the edge of the road, they reached a square, level plaza back of which lay the entrance to what must have been the front of the monastery. This was thickly covered with grass and low bushes save where, straight down the middle toward the gate, there lay a wide, trodden path. Larry and Jim McLean exchanged glances. Though the building was in ruins, it looked as if someone was in the habit of visiting it pretty con- stantly. ECONNOITERING at the gateway, they saw that it led into a wide, square courtyard. There was grass here, too, growing in patches of soil which had been washed over the great stone the path ran straight through it to a square doorway on the further side. The Chinaman was not in sight, nor was there any other sign of life; and at length, automatics in hand, the two crept noiselessly across the empty, silent courtyard slabs, and and safely gained the door. The hall within was lighted brilliantly by the sun, which Illustrated by S. Gordon Smyth poured through a series of tall, window-holes revealing mercilessly ever narrow 7 detail of gaunt, bare ruin. Here and there were gaps in the ceiling where paris of the upper floor had fallen through, and beneath them lay piles of rubbish, small stones and bits of wooden beams, moss-covered and rotting. Several doors opened from the apartment, and after a careful the two friends on the right for their ex- plorations. The Chinaman seemed to have’ vanished into thin air, but they re- alized that he might be hid- ing in any corner, and ad- with the survey > chose on vanced greatest caution. HE room in which they found themselves was larger than the first one. So great, indeed, wis its width that the ceiling was supported down the middle by a row of massive stone columns, each one fully eight feet in diameter, These wer hexagonal in shape, and as Larry, who led the way, reached the nearest one, he sharp, quickly sup- even gave a yressed gasp. J fas} Instead of being solid, on¢ of the six smooth sides was a door cleverly constructed of a wooden framework cov- ered by a thin veneer of It stood slightly open, and with swiftly beating The whole great stone. pulse, Larry made haste to draw it wide. column was hollow, concealing a flight of narrow, winding stone steps leading downward into darkness. In that moment there flashed upon the man that here was the key to the riddle they had been seeking. Some- where in the depths below—in caves or chambers hollowed in the mountain—was the lair of the mysterious Fu-chong. There was an and well-oiled smoothness in the mechanism of the door that hinted at constant use. The crop-eared Chinaman had doubtless been hastening to the rendezvous, and the fact that he had neglected to properly close the entrance looked as if he had no idea of their presence in the neighborhood. And after all, why should he? The murderous attack of the two guides had taken place some fifteen miles to the southward. The surviving Chinaman fled, wounded, and save for a lucky encounter with a native hunter, Larry and McLean might still have been wandering through the desert wilderness miles awa) ease from here. O descend might be risky, but both were well armed and prepared for attack. Moreover, after all they had gone through, Larry could not bear to think of abandon- ing the search when they seemed to be on the very thresh- old of success. He tried to persuade Jim to let him go down alone, but the boy wouldn't hear of it. “Nothing doing,” he declared in an emphatic whisper. “You can’t shake me just when things are getting inter- esting. Besides, it seems to me we'll be much better off together, no matter what happens.” Larry gave a resigned shrug and, slipping through the doorway, started down, counting as he went. The steps, steep and narrow, curved around a slender central stone column. At the end of the thirty-seventh Doyle’s explor- ing foot encountered flat stone pavement. A moment later he was peering out on a straight, flagged passage which ran past the foot of the stairs. Instead of being in dark- ness as might have been expected, this passage was taintly illuminated by a pale, curiously golden glow which came through a squared doorway at the further end. The presence of that light, though it revealed the entire passage bare and empty, sent an uncomfortable nervous thrill through Larry, and tightened his grip on the auto matic. For a long moment he paused irresolute, listening XUM

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XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine intently. But not a sound broke the deadly stillness of the underground place—not even a whisper or the rustle of a garment. He drew back to McLean’s side. ought to go on, Kid,” he breathed. “ It looks queer.” Jim’s lips almost touched his ear. “Just to the door,” the boy urged softly. “There’s nobody back of us, and we've got our guns handy, you know.” Stealthily, noiselessly they crept over the stone floor and gained at length the open doorway. And there they paused amazed, staring, wondering whether what lay beyond was real or not, for it was like nothing either of them had either seen or dreamed of. “T don’t believe we HEY were looking into a cave—vast, lofty as a cathe- dral, its farthest reaches fading imperceptibly into shadows so that at no time could they take in its entire ex- tent. What had so puzzled them—that presence of light where darkness ought to be—was now explained. Or rather it was not explained, but at least they looked upon its source. Straight down the middle of this strange place were two rows of great golden dragons, each one supporting a crystal globe which glowed faintly with a curiously pulsat- ing, opaleseent fire. The light from these globes illumined certain neatby features clearly but kept the greater por- tion of the vast cave in tantalizing shadows. The dragons, for instance, stood out distinctly—twisting, sinuous, re- paulsive looking creatures of dull, shimmering gold which, in that wavering light, seemed to stir and writhe as if they were actually alive. There were hints and glimpses of other things—gorgeous hangings of embroidered silk and satin, splendid rugs scattered over the stone floor, outlines of carved furniture, bronzes, porcelains, and the like. The pungent, aromatic smell of incense floated through the still air. Directly op- posite the doorway was a low platform, behind which an immense Buddha of golden bronze loomed through the shadows and seemed to dominate the place. In front of it, on a sort of throne, was another figure, smaller and— because of thé placing of the lights—almost entirely in shadow. Only the outlines could be seen—outlines of head and shoulders, a fold of flowing drapery, the gleam of two hands resting motionless on the arms of the thronelike chair.

Larry stared at it curiously, striving to pierce the shadows with straining eves. What was it made of? he wondered. Ivory? Lacquer? Carved and painted wood? There was a sort of weird fascination in the thing which seemed so lifelike and yet which sat there inert and mo- tionlgss as the great Buddha against the wall behind. More than once his gaze returned questioning to the platform. \nd then, slowly, gradually, though not a Sound had broken the deep stillness of the place, he seemed to sense human presence. The feeling turned him cold. He was filled with a sud- den, overwhelming desire to escape from this strange, shadowy, underground place. With eyes still fixed upon the platform, he reached out and touched the boy beside He had even taken a single backward step, when, from somewhere close at hand, there came a click, fol- lowed by an ominous, metallic scraping. Hitn, \ 71TH a gasp he whirled around. <A grating of heavy, riven steel was sliding smoothly out of the passage wall directly at his back. He gave a ery, and caught at the moving edge instinctively, But the pressure on his fingers was irresistible. In another moment the grating had touched the other side, cutting off retreat completely. \t the same instant, back in the cave, the double row of erystal globes flared up with a sudden blinding glare of light exactly as if an electric switch had been turned on, brilliantly. The golden dragons took on an added splendor; the priceless rus and hangings glowed gorgeously; fresh wonders were revealed. shifting, illuminating the whole place But Larry was unconscious of them all. His hunted gaze flashed despairingly from one side of the blocked doorway to the other, where at least a score of armed Chinamen stood close against the hangings as if they had just emerged from hiding places behind, and covered the Americans with rifles or revolvers. \ sickening wave of self reproach swept over Larry at having young Jim McLean into such a trap. That was his first thought. An instant later this and every other emotion was swallowed up in amazement. Beneath the monstrous Buddha the figure on the low throne, which he had thought might be an image of carved ivory or painted wood, moved slightly and he found himself staring to the plump, placid, smiling face of—Li-kiang-chow! brought Hope flashed up for a single instant only to die swiftly tgain, For though the portly mandarin was smiling, there i rked in his slanting eyes a sinister expression that was btly evil. It was a look which brought suddenly into Larry's mind the remark of a canny old Scotch tea planter in Ceylon years ago: “ Heaven help ye, mon, if ye’re ever up ag’in a fat villain—who smiles!’ And swiftly on the heels of that memory understanding came to Larry. The identity of the notorious Fu-chong was a mystery no longer. They had solved the problem which for so long had puzzled the whole government of China, but what would this avail them? The young man wondered bitterly how many others might have plumbed the mystery as they had done—too late! Suddenly one plump hand lifted and at the signal two stalwart Chinamen advanced. For an instant Doyle was strongly tempted to resist, but fortunately sober second thought came to him in time. A dozen weapons covered them. The slightest movement would be inviting instant death. The chances were quite in favor of that coming soon enough without his doing anything to hasten it. wi“ a swift word of caution to McLean, he gave up his automatic. It was not so easy to submit to having his hands tied behind his back, but he went through the operation with at least a semblance of cool indiffer- ence. Their hands bound, the two guards led them across the cave and paused at the edge of the low platform. The mandarin surveyed them for a moment in silence, with that same placid, evil smile, his painted purple fan moving gently to and fro. “It is kind of you to pay us a call so soon again,” he murmured presently. Larry flushed angrily at the veiled sarcasm in his voice. “If we'd only known what we know now, we needn't have come so far to find—Fu-chong,” he retorted im- pulsively. “Quite so,” nodded the Chinaman pleasantly. “ But then, you see, it wasn’t my purpose to have you know sooner. At Tsin-tang there might have been some slip. Here—” : His smile deepened significantly and he shrugged his

Along this road a solitary figure had just come into sight 25 satin-covered shoulders. A faint, icy chill flickered momentarily on Larry’s spine, but his head was high and his eyes defiant. “Too bad your guides were not a bit more clever,’ he remarked. “They might have saved you all this trouble.” “T’m not sure I expected them to accomplish much,” re- marked Fu-chong blandly. “They were a stupid pair and one justly met the reward of failure. And after all it is a pleasure to entertain you here for a little while before we part.” Larry abruptly realized the futility of bandying words with this suave villain. The tremendous and passionate instinct of self-preservation which comes to all men in such a’ pass, now dominated him. He was beginning to weigh the situation, to search his mind for possible ways of escape, to calculate their chances. These seemed slight enough in all certainty, but at least they would not be improved by deliberately antagonizing the man before him. To delay action by any means in his power would be much more sensible, and he was searching his mind desperately for something to that end when all at once he realized that Fu-chong had ceased to smile on them and was staring across the cave with a frown. MOMENT later a Chinaman appeared noiselessly beside them and in response to an imperative gesture stepped close to the mandarin and whispered in his ear. There was a swift interchange of words and Fu-chong’s face darkened. For an instant he sat silent. Then he furled the purple fan ‘with a snap and gave a signal. Four of the guards clustered about the doorway has- tened forward and closed about the prisoners. Preceded by the person who had been talking with Fu-chong, they moved swiftly down the cave between the rows of golden dragons for perhaps a hundred feet and then turned sharply to the right. Larry had just time for a hurried backward glance which revealed the portly mandarin sitting upright in his chair, eyes fixed intently on the barred entrance. Then he was hustled into a dark, narrow passage, pushed along it a dozen paces and finally thrust through a doorway into a small, square, dimly lighted room. Jim was just ahead of him, and before either of them had time to realize what was happening, they were lying on adjoining couches. One of the guards covered them with a revolver while the others deftly and dexterously tied their legs with thongs. In the space of sixty seconds they were helpless, the door had clanged shut and they heard the grating of a key in the ponderous lock. For a long moment the silence remained unbroken. Then Larry rolled over on one side and looked at Jim McLean. “Tf only you were out of this, Kid,” he murmured. A flush burned into the boy’s face, his eyes flashed. “T don’t see why you say that,” he retorted. “I'd like to be out of it, but I certainly wouldn’t go alone.” “T know; of course. I didn’t mean that. But I got you into this and I ought to have known better. After promising your dad to look after you, this is a nice—” “Oh, can that!” cut in Jim impatiently, “ You couldn't have kept me out.” This was a slight exaggeration, but Larry appreciated the spirit that prompted it, and his eyes twinkled. “T ought to have made a stab at it, anyhow,” he retorted. “T should have tied you to one of those big posts up there, seeing that you wouldn’t stay behind of your own accord.” He moved his shoulders slightly. “ Well, no use grouching, I suppose. We'd better be working our brains to see if there’s a chance of getting out of this mess.” IS glance left the boy and roved curiously about the room—for it was a room and not another cave as he had at first supposed, There was a wooden floor covered with rugs, the couches on which they lay, and several stands and cabinets of carved teak. On one of the latter stood a graceful porcelain jar which glowed with a soft subdued light that puzzled Larry. He had seen just such effects produced in modern decoration by an electric globe cunningly placed in a vase of porcelain or alabaster. At first thought the presence of electricity in such a place as this seemed too incongruous to credit. But after all, he asked himself presently, why should it be impossible in these days of easy transportation and perfect machinery? A dynamo of moderate power would easily suffice to sup- ply all the illumination they had seen so far. Then his gaze and his attention both returned to a feature of the room that had interested him tremendously from the very first. Every inch of walls and ceiling were panelled in what looked like cedar, This woodwork was carved elaborately with intricate, archaic designs and was plainly of enormous age. Not alone did its appearance indicate this. In addi- tion it gave out that faint, acrid, curiously pungent odor of wood which is slowly disintegrating from sheer dry-rot. It might easily have been placed there when the ruined monastery above their heads was in its prime, Larry de- cided, and then of a sudden an object across the room (Continued on page 52

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OR a long time, at intervals ever since he had first heard talk of the blow-pipes of the Karon pygmies, Jim had been fighting with himself concerning the quality of his own courage. He was not a coward. During his connection with Captain Burr trading there had been many times and many ways wherein Jim had faced peril, had looked into the face cf sudden death, and he knew that he with his He had iequired self-confidence, he felt that he the thought de idly in South-Sea nad met these circumstances brain clear and his hand steady. had proved himself and yet of these little darts, tiny of bamboo tipped with poison and puffed tube, gave him the creeps. slivers from a That was, he felt, because the danger was likely to be Out of the thick bush that stood like a wall unseen, unheard. of green, shrubs and vines and great trees all twisted and interlaced with Pa creepers, a screen impenetrable to the NY eyes and mocking man’s strenuous en- deavors to force a way even with the axe, out of this, on a level or from above, might come at any second the messenger tipped with filling of brown cheeks with wind, a quick, silent pointing, a puff and there would be the splinter clinging to the exposed flesh, the sting of it less than a mosquito bite but the death it carried in the venom inexor- =r corruption. <A able, rushing through the veins and throttling the heart before one even J | knew he had been hit. It was horrible, cowardly warfare and Jim did not see how it could be combated. It got on his young nerves. Why, half a dozen Karons, less, could despatch ‘all their outfit from ambush as they went along the trail, or from tree boughs after the camp slept, first destroying the sentinels—and they would never suspect, never see nor hear their murderers. oo CREASES ow T got so that he began asking questions about the poison, first of Afua, then of Futu and, last of all, the skipper. Strangely enough the captain seemed to have more definite information than the natives. “Thar’s a lot of talk about what it is, Jim,” he said and, if Jim had been look- ing at the skipper he would have seen the latter’s keeri eye regarding him closely. “Some say it’s made of rotten liver— gen’ally human—some say it’s a sort of gum an’ others it’s from the putrid flesh of the pizen-fish, but a science-shark told me once it was fixed up from th¢ biled shrub an’ was stuff n:med curare. “It used to git on my nerves a bit when I first started trailin’ the bush,” he went on, talking unconcernedly though he was watch- ing Jim all the time. “Seemed like I couldn’t think of nothin’ but a pizened arrer or a puff-dart sliddering out from the leaves—an’ me helpless. Then I got on to my- self an’ the fac’ that thar’s allus two sides to that sort of thing. We may be bluffed by pizen-darts but more’n haf the time they ain’t pizened or the pizen’s wore-off or stale -for it ain’t so easy to git—an’ we forget to figger that tother side is far more scared by our rifles. I wasn’t worryin’ “bout the trail to the buryin’ cliff because I knew Billi or Afua would have smelled out any Karons if they was round. After this, w’en we take to a bush trail— which I don’t aim to unless it’s plumb necessary—we ll go careful. But I ain’t heard or seen many killed by pizen darts an’ the Karons know we got plenty of guns an’ they’re scared of a comeback, I'll bet you most ennything you’ve a mind to that they know somethin’ of what we did in the wizard line at Hanuabada. That news travels tast. “ An’ we're goin’ to stick to stream travel long as we can, Them darts cant travel fur an’ the stream’s a safe trail. W’en we git up inter that Karon Valley or where we find the gold—for we'll tackle that first an’ pick up what we can about the gal as we go along—we’ll make camp in some clear place where there’s water handy an’ barbed-wire fence the place that’ll RINNE Se NR a ar a juice of a ell put a round

By J. Allan Dunn Illustrated by Remington Schuyler nwt )79 ¥ by

ate” eT le Only one glimpse were they dramatically given and then the section of the thatch was replaced discourage enny Karon pipe-puffer night or day.” Jim nodded. “T see,’ he said. “Captain, those darts had my goat.” “Sure they did. Had mine till experience taught me they wasn’t such a terrible risk. Now Jim-lad, we've got to go up above the falls an’ figger on some sort of craft to tackle the stream. Mebbe we can find some canoes. I sure hate to start the long job making ’em. They've got to be dug-outs without outriggers for the channel ’Il be narrer. Then we got to hide our launch where we can find it easy an’ where the Karons can’t. We may need to make a quick gitaway. We'll leave that to Afua an’ Billi. You an’ me ’ll go above the falls.” ITH four natives and the inevitable Futu as escort the skipper and Jim started oui. At the head of the falls they found the stream flowing between steep banks over a rocky bed that it had carved for itself. There were many boulders but there was always a fair channel where a canoe could be paddled, poled or hauled. Fatoa had spoken of there being a sort of suburb of the main village used by the young bucks during certain ceremonials connected with their entry into the com- munity or club-house of the tribe, when they lived apart from the rest. There had been canoes there and, as they were used only occasionally they were kept hidden, prob-

BOYS’ LIFE ably in some cave, for she had never been allowed in this bachelor haunt. It was quite likely that the Karons had overlooked these. She did not accompany them, keeping perpetually with Afua, but the skipper sent the kanakas to look for them while he and Jim sur- veyed the stream. “Thar’s several ways to tackle the Karons about the gal if we git trace of her,’ said the skipper. “Talk, trade, tricks or trubble. You see these Karons ain’t as wise as the coast tribes close to the white settlements an’ thar’s lots of teriki we can pull on them we wouldn't dare to other places. Their wizards will have their own magic but they won’t be as wise as Tubi. “If we can actually locate the gal an’ be sure she is white, we've got a claim on her because she’s of our own race. She may be their fetish but, if we can fix it with the priests for some kind of a swap, it'll be fairly easy goin’. Mebbe the trade goods ‘ll buy her, mebbe we'll show ‘em some wonders, private exhibi- tion for wizards on!y, an’ offer to let ’em ‘ tA gy. in on the secrets of the magic. If the worst comes to the worst we'll either scare ’em inter a deal or fight ’em. If we can’t, kidnap her an’ git clean to the launch. “You see, Jim, she'll be a wild thing. It ain’t to be expected but what she'll be scared of us too. She was took too young for there to be enny call of the blood. She'll be hard to handle. But it all de- pends how things work out. We'll make sure of the gold first in case of trubble. Afua kind of bothers me. He’s made up his mind for revenge an’ he’s too quiet not to have made up his mind about it. I ain't goin’ to leave him behind like he wishes. We got to take things as they come. But—” Futu was running towards them, his face in a broad grin. “Five canoes!” he announced. “In a cave! Paddles!” He pointed up-stream to where the kanakas now _ showed, triumphantly dragging to the water hol- lowed logs of hardwood, about fifteen feet long, well shaped by axes, bitten out by fire, too excellent in craftmanship to be termed dugouts, handy boats that would hold considerable freight as well as passengers. The skipper chuckled complacently at the sight of them. “‘ Saves us a heap of trubble, Jim,” he said. “ Now we'll get the launch stowed ternight, after dark, an’ meanwhile we'll transport our stuff above the fall ready for an early start.” “How about the Karon dialect?” asked Jim. ‘ Did you ask Fatoa?” “Nigh enough to Melanesian for us to git by?” said the skipper. “ Now, Jim, here’s where you play supercargo. I’m goin’ to look up Afua an’ Billi after you an’ me go over what we'll take an’ what we'll leave.”

USK found trade goods, provisions and other im- pedimenta carried to the upper stream under Jim's supervision. After supper came the job of successfully hiding the launch before the moon rose. It was a careful piece of work to carry out. The skipper and Afua were convinced that the Karons, by drum-talk and by spying, knew all about the outfit of the expedition and it was likely that they might seek out the launch, for curiosity if for no other reason. Their keen eyes and senses had to be deceived. But Afua and Billi had planned well. To lose the launch would be a tremendous blow. They had chosen a spot where the wild vines flowed over a bank of soft dirt and swept the water. Working knee-deep, intensely care- ful to leave no trace, they had, behind the natural screen, dug in the earth a lateral ditch into which the launch could be floated. This place was about a quarter of a mile below the ruined village. In the dusk, while the natives, at the skipper’s order, sat about the fire, with sentinels set and the men keeping out of the direct light of the flames to avoid a counting of

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XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine the numbers, singing chants and giving assurance of a peaceful, resting camp: Afua, Billi, Jim and the skipper let the launch drift down stream until Afua and Billi recognized, with night-useful eyes, the marks they had chosen for recognition of their hideout. The darkness was thick beneath the trees that overarched the stream, only a few stars showing in the gap above the foliage. How they distinguished the spot was a mystery to Jim but there was no hesitation about it. : At Afua’s word, all four clambered over the thwarts waist-deep in the flowing water and softly urged the launch towards the bank and through gently parted boughs close to the shore. So on down stream until they reached the ditch. Afua explained how he and Billi had carefully disentangled the vines as they had dug so that they could be as carefully replaced to hide the ditch. The launch was backed into its tiny harborage, woven branches, already made into a hurdle, were placed across the entrance and then Afua and Billi, working in the dark, with occasional guarded flashes from electric torches in the hands of Jim and the skipper, arranged the uninjured boughs of the creeping vines until there was no slightest suggestion of any cache. The skipper expressed himself as satisfied. “The water has carried away all the digging stuff,” he said to Jim. “ By mornin’, what with the dew an’ their own elasticity, those vines’ll be growin’ as natural as could be. That’s a mighty good job, Afua an’ Billi. Now we'll be gittin’ back.” Y the time the moon, now in its second quarter, rose, the camp, save for two sentries, was asleep. The chattering birds at dawn discussed the movements of these strangers, loading canoes and paddling on up the stream towards the branch that ran down from the Karon’s gorge. For five days they struggled with pole and paddle and rope. Steadily the banks grew higher and more rocky, though still covered with verdure and set with trees wher- ever the roots could find sustenance and a grip. Most of these that bordered the water were palms, festooned by vines that bore orchid blooms and ever haunted by birds whose gaudy feathers made The Admiral dull by contrast. Ever the mountains came closer with their terraced flanks, thick-set with trees, their shoulders bare or clad with far- off snows. Jim put in part of his time teaching The Admiral some Melanesian phrases, in the hope that he might display them on timely occasions. And nothing molested them. Sometimes, in the mid-afternoon or near dawn, they would hear the drum-calls, talking perhaps about them, perhaps about the tribal doings of the strange peoples who might be hidden in the jungle fastnesses. Every night they were sure to hear the booming, and every night the skipper set off a ship’s rocket, soaring high above the forest and breaking into fiery streamers with blue globes of incandescence floating slowly down. “Don’t mean ennything,” he told Jim, “but they may think it means a whole heap. They re liable to figger that the blue balls are spirits we send up to answer the drums or spy out our way. Ennyhow, it keeps ’em guessin’ an’ preserves our reputation as wizards.” They carried the searchlight with them, fed with carbide and, as they had plenty of the latter, the skipper, as they turned at last into the fork that would lead to the Karon territory, kept it burning after dark before the moon rose, one of the sentries occasionally revolving it to command all quarters, sometimes letting it sweep the sky in a beam that must have puzzled and awed any watching natives. OON the Karon Branch, as they named it, became a stream flow:ng down the floor of a limestone canyon, the shores on each side ranging from: fifty to three hun- dred feet in width, masses of rock and parklike stretches with frequent groves; the ravine twisting like a snake, the cliffs mounting sheer and white two hundred feet over- head. On the eighth morning after leaving the fall by Fatoa’s village they heard a steadily increasing sound of breakers and, rounding a hairpin curve, they saw the gorge widened out into a great oval. Before them the stream rushed noisily over a stairway of stone, hissing and spouting in impassable cataracts. Beyond that were falls tumbling over a rock terrace approximating thirty feet, that stretched from cliff to cliff and formed a plateau, well wooded but cleared to either side of where the stream appeared to flow, for, in the distance, they cou'd see the waving silver thread of a cascade that dropped from a dizzy height in the mountain wall that closed the gorge. And they could see blue smoke curling up from a settlement hidden by the elevation. Here was the Karon stronghold, here the spot where, if anywhere, the white girl was held as a fetish. And, nearby, was the gold. So far they had not sought for the precious mineral for Fatoa assured them that it was found only in great quantities in one smaller stream where the water had uncovered, perhaps in fissures deep within the rocks, the mother veins. No drums proclaimed their arrival; save for the smoke, they might have thought themselves dis- coverers of a mountain solitude. Tt was horrible, cowardly warfare and Jim did not see howit could be 27 O the right there was a wedge shaped cleavage in the cliffs, out of which gushed an affluent of the stream up which they had traveled. It was in shadow, a gloomy rift. The waters joined in a whirpool at the foot of the -ataracts that barred their further progress in the canoes. The flotilla landed and the skipper announced orders for making camp. “Thar’s a likely place at the entrance to that side- canyon,” he said to Jim. “Cliff at our back. Overhangs a bit. Enough trees for shade an’ close to water. We'll haul up the canoes on land. Stream’s too shaller. We ll make this our permanent camp.” Soon the kanakas were at work, first with the canoes, then raising the tent for the skipper and Jim, mounting the searchlight, building a shed for the trade-goods and felling poles, which they split, charring the ends in the fire to harden them before they drove them deep into the ground and siarted stapling on five strands of barbed wire in a five-foot fence. Not satisfied with parallel wires, the skipper had additional ones cris-crossed until the de- fense would, as he put it, “keep out a cat.” A gate was made of solid stakes. The canoes lay halfway between the trocha and the main stream, easily covered by rifle or pistol fire, on a sloping strand, in plain sight. “ Nothin’ like bein’ prepared for visitors,” said the skipper. They're waitin for us to make the first move, but they’re more curious than we are, so we'll let ‘em wear out their patience. Jim, want to go prospectin? Fatoa don’t know for certain—but this may be the gold stream. Looks wild enough for ennything.” The ravine was forbidding. It was shaped as if by the stroke of a giant's axe driven down through the solid rock. Broken boulders filled the floor along which the torrent They worked up it, looking for smooth stretches or for sand-bars as the most likely places for prospecting, but found none. The ravine was less than ha:f a mile in depth, and, like This seemed to “ boiled, leaving scant footway on either side. the main gorge, it was closed by a fall. surge out of some natural conduit in the back-cliff, plung- ing into a pool almost circular in shape, following the lines of a lite amphitheater with smooth, concave walls, almost a cavern, seemingly worn out by the waters ages ago, or by the grinding of ice in some dim glacial period. It was gloomy in this place, and their instinctively low- ered voices echoed strangely. Fallen rock made up pre- carious ledges along two sides, and here the water shal- lowed. The pool was lined with a black sand, almost as coarse as gravel. (Continued on page 50) combated

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28 Curly By Joseph B. Ames So CHAPTER XXII Tue Coronet vo Tue Rescve l was not until late that afternoon that Curly got up and hobbled into another room on the same floor to He found him conscious weak. So, beyond telling him briefly what had happened ind that every- thing was going well, he did not linger. from “Message received. Start tomorrow with companions. Will be with Have wired five hundred see Curtis. hut very Just before supper cameé a reply the colonel. you in six days. dollars.” rhe money arrived in due time and Curly then took up with Harrison the question of buying wagons and _ stores. He found that these could be had in Yam- pa, sO, as soon as he could get around comfortably, the two sallied forth to get them. They were nearly all day at it, and suc- ceeded in buying a couple of strong, service- ible wagons, nearly new, besides a quan- tity of provisions, ropes and other neces- sities. This was as far as Curly’s money would go, but he picked out a dozen rid- ing horses and two span of mules, so that when the colonel arrived there need be no time lost in locating them. Then he set- tled down to wait. Che interval was not unpleasant, except that the boy could not help worrying a good deal over those he had left down in the canyon. He and Harrison had daily talks in which Curly came more and more to like and trust the big burly fellow. In one of these he heard all about Harrison’s prospecting venture. It had turned out very well except that the quality of the ore discovered was such that he would ive to find capital for its development. That, and the necessity for fresh supplies, id brought him to Yampa only a few days before the two met. In another talk Curly learned that Bull Henger had again escaped. Two of his band had been killed Id Aztec BOYS’ LIFE Illustrated by Enos B. Comstock on that memorable night, but their faces were unknown to any of the men who saw them. &, RTIS continued to improve steadily and on the morning of the sixth day was able to sit up. He was as anxious as Curly for the arrival of Colonel Van- dergrift and fretful at being unable to go with Harrison and Curly to meet the train. Searcely had it stopped alighted when a gentleman hastily from the rear car and looked anxiously about him. He was of medium height and rather stout, with a grayish moustache, a close-trimmed beard and_ keen, penetrating, yet good-humored blue eyes. Curly recog- nized him at once from Berkeley’s description, and has- tened toward him, limping a little. “This is Graham, I’m sure,” said the older man as “I’m very glad indeed to see you.” He shook hands warmly. “ You’ve been hurt?” “We had a little scrimmage with the men Dean wrote the \ met. you about.” “That’s bad,” the colonel said. “You must tell me about it later. You left Berkeley in the Canyon?” *Yes—with the relics,” Curly slightly emphasized the latter word and the older man nodded. “Curtis and I came out to send you word.” He turned and beckoned to his companion. “I'd like you to meet George Harrison, Colonel. He and his friends saved our lives, and he’s been of no end of help since then.” “Glad to meet you, sir.” said the colonel heartily, as he grasped the big chap’s hand. “I’m most curious to hear more of this life-saving business. Won’t you join us ” for lunch in my car? rARRISON thanked him, but declined, saying he } knew the colonel must be anxious to have a talk with Curly. Then, with an appointment to meet early in the afternoon, he took himself off. “Sensible man!” exclaimed the colonel. “I like a person with.tact. He knew I was on pins and needles As a big burly rufian made a dive for him. he flung the heavy revolver straight info his face. until I could hear about things from you. Let’s get into the car where we can talk comfortably.” He turned and led the way to the private car, had been switched off on a siding not far froin where they stood. They installed in comfortable arm- chairs in the observation compartment, and after the colonel had ordered lunch to be served in an hour, he settled back with a sigh of relief. “Now tell me first of all what you have found,” he said quickly. “It’s you've unearthed everything that was noted down in that document.” “But we did, though,” Curly answered. “ Every single which were soon impossible that item is there.” “What!” gasped the colonel, sitting suddenly upright. “You tell me “We found every one of those things,” Curly ated, “and more gold than I ever thought could be col- You can’t be serious.” reiter- lected outside the .mint.” Colonel Vandergrift drew a long breath; his eyes were soul!” he Begin at the beginning still incredulous. “Bless my exclaimed. “Why - But tell the story. and tell me all of it.” ~O Curly settled back and began a narration of their S adventures from the time they left Green River Junc- tion. The colonel listened with the keenest attention, making frequent comments and asking many questions. Hie made Curly describe minutely, as far as he was able, the various images and relics, and at the mention of the chest of Aztec books his excitement mounted to a fever heat. But the thought of these did not absorb him enough to prevent his being thrilled at the tale of their capture by Henger and of the mad ride for life which followed their escape. When the story was finished he leaned back in his chair, an expression in his keen blue eyes which brought a touch of color to Curly’s cheeks. “That was a fine thing to do, my boy,” he said, after a moment’s silence. “It certainly saved the day, and I shan’t forget it. We must find some -way of rewarding those men, especially your friend Harrison. After lunch you must meet my bodyguard,” he added, smiling, as the steward announced lunch. “Then we'll go down and see Curtis.” It was the first really civilized meal Curly had eaten in very many weeks, and it seemed strange to sit down at a table covered with silver and china and glass. When they had finished, Colonel Vander- grift led the way into a large central com- partment where some ten or twelve men were reading or playing cards. He intro- duced the boy-to them all by name, and Curly noted with pleasure the fine, honest directness of their glance, the firm hand- clasp, the sturdy set of broad shoulders, These were men, he felt, who could be de- pended on, and it would go ill with Bull Henger and his gang of scoundrels should they attempt any further interference with the expedition. FTER talking a while here, the colo- nel and Curly left the car and walked up to the saloon, where they saw Curtis. But they did not stay there long. The energetic millionaire presently got hold of Harrison and the three made the rounds of the various places where Curly had located horses and mules. By evening everything necessary for the expedition had been purchased, and before noon next day the wagons were packed and_ they were ready to start. The porter and stew- ard were to remain with the car, and at the last moment-Colonel Vandergrift in- formed Curly that he had persuaded Har- rison to go along. “T like him,” he said in his bluff man- ner. “ He's a man you can trust, and will be invaluable in case of trouble. At pres- ent he’s going to drive one of the wagons.” After lunch they said good-bye to Cur- tis and set out. They followed the trail which Curly knew only too well, and in a couple of hours they reached the cabin which had been the scene of so much men- tal and physical suffering to the boy. Headed by the colonel, the men rode up to it and pounded on the door. There was no response, so they forced their way in to find the place deserted. Things were thrown about in disorder and there was every sign of a hurried flight, which greatly annoyed the colonel, though he admitted he had scarcely expected anything else. It was still quite early, but they decided to spend the night here. They had been up since dawn, and though the novelty of the situation kept a few awake, the majority turned in soon after supper. Colonel Vandergrift and Curly occupied the main room of the cabin. A few of the men bunked in the stable, but most of them rolled up in their blankets around a fire built just in front of the shack. HEY had hoped to reach the canyon late that after- noon, but progress was slow and night found them a good ten miles away from it. However, at nine next morning they emerged from the coconino grove and, dis- mounting, advanced to the edge of the abyss, led by Curly, who was searching for the path by which they had ascended. As the party reached the rim and the wonderful pros- pect suddenly unfolded before them, they stopped as one man and gazed in startled wonder. They had come upon it so suddenly that it was like a shock, and few of them had ever seen anything to which it could be even remotely One big six-footer actually shuddered as he turned his back on the abyss. “It’s awful,” he said in a low tone. want to jump down there.” “ Better not,” advised another with a grin. “I’d hate to have to hunt around down there for your remains.” “You don’t mean to tell me we’re going down there?” inquired another, pointing to the distant silvery river. compared. “Tt makes you XUM

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XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine “Why, yes, Ferris,” answered the colonel briskly, com- ing up from behind. “ At least, I hope we are. Our young friend climbed up without any trouble. We cer- tainly ought to be able to get down with all these ropes and things.” “He climbed up—from the bottom?” the man said in- credulously, nodding toward Curly. “He did,’ said the colonel decidedly. “Brace up, Ferris. It’s not as bad as it looks. Well, we must get busy.” \fter some discussion it was decided that six of the men, including the cook, should stay with the wagons while the others accompanied Colonel Vandergrift and Curly into the canyon, Under the former’s direction every one went to work and got out ropes and pulleys, spikes, sledges and other appliances from the wagons, as well as an abundant sup- ply of food. When everything had been portioned out, they started down the first descent, with Curly in the lead. The traveling was comparatively easy, for though the pathway wound back and forth, it was wide enough to give them a good footing. ‘The rock here was softer, and though it had worn and crumbled into odd shapes, there was nothing like the precipitous drop they were soon to encounter. Reaching the bottom, Curly led the way across the wide, rocky strip toward the edge of the next cliff. He had his bearings pretty well in mind, and before they were half way across he discovered his pyramid of stones piled about the mouth of the crack through which he had first come. “So this is the place, is it?” the colonel remarked as crevice. “I’m thankful we they paused beside the An unassisted descent doesn’t brought that rope along. exactly appeal to me.” “Tt’s not nearly as bad as it looks,” Curly said. “The cleft narrows, you see, as it gets into the rock, so you can wedge yourself in and there isn’t a chance of falling.” The colonel’s eyes twinkled. “ Still, it would be a pity not to use the ropes after bringing them all this way.” NURLY agreed with a laugh, and they picked out a & spot between two boulders where one of the iron bars was driven. The rope was made fast to this and a running noose tied to the other end. Two men were then picked out to remain by the cleft and assist the party on their return. Food and water were given them and signals arranged for hoisting the rope. When everything had been arranged satisfactorily, Curly stepped forward to make the first descent. “ Remember, fellows,” he said to the men, as he slipped the noose under his arms, “when you're going down keep in toward the back of the crack, and you can steady yourself against the rock. Go ahead now, I’m ready.” He was seated in the edge of the abyss and at these words he swung himself off and disappeared. The descent was easy and not unpleasant, save for the pressure of the rope under his arms. The remainder of the party followed one by one, the colonel coming last. Carrying their supplies and equipment they left the narrow canyon, and_ presently stood on_ the brink of the last and most difficult descent. This con- sisted of the many twisting ledges, some of them very narrow, and as they looked the ground over Harrison conceived the idea of making use of their rope ladders to eliminate most of the more dangerous places. It was a happy thought. Spikes were driven into the rock and the ladders fastened to them, and again spiked at the bottom to make them steady. In this way they progressed straight down from one ledge to artother in- stead of taking the circuitous course Curly had _ been: obliged to follow. The difficulties were thus greatly les- sened and the distance more than cut in half, and about five in the afternoon they hurried out of the side canyon and stood at length on the brink of the Colorado. “Well, we’re here at last,” said the colonel, mopping his brow. “And a stiff job it’s been. Now, which way, my boy.” “Down stream—just around that bend,” said Curly, pointing out the way. ITHOUT further words he hurried forward as fast as he could, and as they reached the bend his heart was thumping with excitement and anticipation. So much had happened to him in that comparatively brief inter- val of. separation from his sister and his friends, that he suddenly began to wonder fearfully whether or not they had escaped accident or. harm. A moment later his mind was relieved. As they turned the corner he saw a column of smoke rising from the treasure canyon across .the river, and noticed that the two boats lay side by side, well up from the water. In- stantly he let out a piercing yell which made the colonel slap both shands over his ears. At once a figure appeared from behind the rocks and gazed eagerly at them. It was Homer. “Hello, kid!” shouted Curly joyfully. at last. Come over and get us.” “You bet I will!” cried Homer. “We're here “Wait half a min- ute.” Dodging behind the rock, he returned almost instantly, followed by Berkeley, Dorothy and Rupert. Berkeley and Homer hastily launched the boats and _ paddled swiftly across the smooth stream. As the keel of the Mystery grated on the beach, Curly sprang forward and grabbing hold of his friend thumped him on the back. “Gee, but I’m glad to see you!” he exclaimed. “Is Jack all right? Why, what’s the matter?” he broke off. “You look half starved. Haven’t you had enough to eat?” “We've been dieting a little, that’s all,” grinned Berke- ley, as he turned from Colonel Vandergrift and shook Curly’s hand. “Too much rich food never does you any good. I hope you’ve brought along something for sup- per, though. We aren’t prepared for company.” “Tt’s a shame, my dear fellow!” exclaimed the colonel warmly. “ You look as if you’d been half starved. For- tunately, we’ve plenty, so let’s get over at once and give you a square meal.” 29 Curly was in the first boat to cross. A moment later his arms were about Dorothy and he was inwardly vow- ing that never again would he leave her like this. CHAPTER XXIII ForEeBODINGS 66 OU two certainly had a rough time of it, old man,” said Berkeley regretfully. “It never oc- curred to me that we ought to have considered that beast Henger. I supposed of course we’d seen the last of him long ago.” They were sitting around the fire after supper and Curly had just finished the story of their adventures. “So did I,” agreed the latter, “He’s a great sight smarter than I had any idea he’d be, and we were mighty lucky to get out of his clutches, I can tell you.” Involuntarily he shivered a little at the thought of what would almost certainly have been their fate at the outlaw’s hands, but he quickly thrust it aside, for Colonel Vandergrift was speaking with his accustomed briskness and force: “Tuck? Nonsense! Don’t you believe him, Dean. If I could have pulled myself and a helpless friend out of a mess like that as well as he did I'd be all puffed up over it. I got it all out of Harrison, so you needn’t trouble to deny it, my young friend.” He paused to laugh a little at Curly’s blushes. “ Well, now that you’ve heard all the news,” he went on present- ly, “suppose we discuss the plan of campaign for to- We don’t want to stop here any longer than Can we get everything up the cliffs morrow. necessary, I fancy. in one day?” “T believe so—if we hustle,” Berkeley returned. “ You brought plenty of bags along, didn’t you?” “Yes, we have three hundred of them—good, strong ones, too.” “That ought to do. It seems to me we'd better start the first thing in the morning and pack everything into those bags. The hide sacks are no use at all. How about your men? Can they be trusted? Do they know what they’re here for?” “They know they’re to help us get a treasure away. I fancy they think it’s gold ore. I promised them two thousand dollars each if we land it safely in New York. They’re good men.” “Then they can help us,’ nodded Berkeley. “ As soon as everything is packed up and securely tied, they can begin carrying the bags down to the river and paddling them across. With every one lending a hand this ought not take a great deal of time, though the stuff weighs like the deuce, of course. Meanwhile, one of us had bet- ter fix pulleys alongside each of the rope ladders you told me about and another at the top of the cleft. That will make it much easier to get the stuff up to where you left the two men. From there it will have to be (Continued on page 55) The cavalcade looked very imposing with the mounted men riding on either side of the laden wagons.

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XUM The ¥ ) tS Boy Scouts’ Magazine Successful Snap Shots Leonard Keeler, Berkeley, Cal. printed on Page 51) A HOWARD COLLINS, Detrat, Miche. y yx | ATLANTIC COAST WINTER |) \ PS O'TOOLE, b, v/h , 1 ae — iounel , f ,! yp xt Nae nai Sh. ] fy i) a) " a .) Rocks 13! '* )») b DW yg ) y} ) / / y " » "P ‘ f0/ My, MESSE FE VAYONER, Ked Cloud, Neb. bo) JUST FRIENDLY ) {) ff, Oe anne “THROW sam EATS” > \ THE CASCADE. 5, \, ) \ Stovr RA MEANULTY, -|'\\ b SC0UT LOREE SOMERS,» St ty a. ) y ’ HOME FROM ‘THE HIKE) |) WILLIAM KAPLAN, Mew York Cily. | | OH: id e ; y/ CHARLES mutcre, Long (slandMY ‘Sy 4 3S) THE PoPL cy, A See eee ae IY “UL GLAESER, Wew Brilaire , "| ptceinbe RW ‘ CorerecttCul™ y _% | S CRAG rte: ter Tera2 DECORATION DAY if / Jy |PAUL R. SAVANAGH / * HEADS ! WE WIN! ” Wd! y Samdashg, OFz20. ) SM Lous J. OOADE: Ler. a a) ae er ee b 4 CALIFORNIAN CYPRESS 5 31

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Camping Incident in the DITOR CRUMP tells me that this is the camping wants me to put the flavor of camping in my Now to be honest, between you and me, I think number and he contribution. the flavor of camping can be found in all my contributions to BOYS’ LIFE; I couldn’t keep it out if I would, so I wouldn't keep it out if I could, There is one thing about camping that I want to impress upon the reader, and that is that he must study to see what he can do with- out, and not what would be the most convenient things to have. If he is looking for the most convenient articles in camp, it will be necessary for him to transport a house, water, electricity and a hotel kitchen, which is absurd on the face of it. What the reader should do when he is going camping is to remember that he is going to have hardships, but he must not forget our slogan and he must learn to LOVE HARDSHIP FOR SAKE This does not mean that I advise anyone to wade through ice-water when it can be avoided, neither do I advise him to sleep in an uncom- fortable place if there is a comfortable one handy. What our slogan means is that we must make the best of everything and have a good time doing it, and, if it should be necessary to wade through ice-water, why, bless your soul, WADE and do it singing a chanty a jolly tune. One must not fear hard work, whether it be hiking over a rough road or rough trail, mountain climbing, or build- ing a shack. But the good camper travels light, he takes with him only what experience has taught him to be neces- Talking about traveling light reminds me of the HARDSHIP'’S song or whistling sary. time I went FLY-FISHING FOR GRIZZLY BEARS. r was up in the section of the country now known as Glacier Park. I had a five-ounce rod with me and a book of flies. Stanley told me that I ought to carry a gun; but a gun is often a heavy thing to tote, even when one is hunting; and I seen the time when there wasn’t any position in which I could put a gun that was comfortable; the fact is at pocket-knife seems too heavy to carry, and field glasses feel as if they When one has been have times even a weighed twenty-five or thirty pounds. hitting the trail for four or five hours on a stretch any extra weight becomes a torment, so, somehow or other, the proposition to carry a gun on this long hike did not appeal to me. My fishing creel, fly-book and rod, a pinch of tea and a rasher of bacon, were all that I deemed necessary. There used to be a trail from Gondel Lake over and across towards South Fork. On that trail there was some splendid trout fishing; I don’t recollect now just where I was at the time of which I am writing, but it was not far from is now Glacier Park; it may even have been within the boundaries thereof. Be that as it may, I had caught a fine string of various kinds of fish; and some big bull trout, the latter not on the fly, but with the ten-inch trout as bait that I did catch on the fly. Also a number of those blue-colored trout that one finds in glacial waters, and some gaudy cut- throat trout. what ATHERING a lot of damp moss, I spread it on a flat shady place, and on the moss I laid out my fish and they made a display that would warm the cockles of the heart of any fisherman. There I left them while I went to a more con- venient place to build a little camp-fire and _ broil bacon and steep a noggin of tea. The fire had just started to burn when I heard the noise of broken twigs and looked up apprehensively, as one always does when one is wilderness and stone in a some alone in the hears any sort of a noise, but I saw nothing at first until the rock with my fish on it came within the range of my vision. Back of this rock I then noticed the bushes sway- By Dan Beard

ing, presently they parted, and a head was pushed through Say! I take my solemn oath the head was the opening. bigger than the head of a buffalo bull! No, I did not measure it and would not have attempted to do so even had I had a tape-line handy; for it was the head of a big bald-faced grizzly that I saw!—Stanley had told me to tote a gun. I had selected a sheltered spot in which to build my camp-fire, sheltered by some big glacial boulders and when Mrs. Grizzly poked her head through the bushes,— well, I had walked a long way and my knees felt a little weak, so just for the sake of studying natural history, you know, and watching animals leading the wild life natural to them in their own environment, I quietly set- tled down behind those boulders so that I could see the bear through a small between two stones. The reader has no doubt often heard of people who have hed their legs cut off and complained of their toes itch- ing when there was no toe to itch—well, my back is as free from hair as a baby’s cheek, nevertheless, the hair the hair of my prehistoric ancestors—stood space on my back on end like that of a frightened dog. The wind was in my favor and she did not get the taint of the human odor, which is so distasteful and dis- turbing to the wild creatures of the forest, as to often cause them to precipitately flee from its hateful presence. EF, but it is funny how a fellow feels under such circumstances—I mean, how a nature student feels pl That beside me seemed when he has such a bully chance to take notes. little bamboo switch of a trout rod

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BOYS’ LIFE

R t RocKies to me to be the silliest, most ridiculous implement I ever saw; I wondered how a full-grown dignified man could ever consent to carry one of those things around with him. I knew that even grizzly bears usually fled at the first sniff of the odor of a man and I felt that I would enjoy it immensely if | only possessed in an exaggerated degree, the combined odor of the whole human race! | longed to smell like the interior of the Little Red School House and have the wind blow the smeil right from me into the face of that bear. But possessing only the faint odor of a single man, I was .more than satisfied to have the wind blow from the bear to me as it did, for Mrs. Ephraim was but thirty paces from my hiding place and from the looks of her toe-nails it must have been a long, long time since she visited a chiropodist to have them cut. I reckon I must have been in a state of “hyas kwass” which is Siwash and need not be translated. Mrs. Grizzly, however, did not know of my presence and as she looked at the fish, she ex- claimed “ Ough-oo-00,” which translated means, “dinner is served, my dears.” Immediately there was an answer on her right of “Oo-wee-ee,” and on the left of ‘“ Wee-ee-e,” meaning “ ves, mamma, we are coming,” and the next instant a brownish-colored cub and an almost white cub appeared on the rock and my fish began to disappear. The greedy things cleaned up the whole string, not even leaving me one to fry with my bacon. The food seemed to act as a stimulant and the cubs commenced to roll around on that rock and have fun. Suddenly one of the cubs let out a sort of baby-like bawl, then the other cub gave vent to a like expression of pain and surprise. Mrs. Ephraim immediately hurried to investigate. It was then I got my revenge, a revenge that cost me some- thing, but I did not regret it at the time.

NDER the falls of the stream that I intended to fish after lunch, it was reported that there were some black speckled trout,” which I believe are really land locked saimon of great size. I was also told that these splendid fish might be caught in the white boiling suds at the foot of the cascade and I had prepared a nine- foot leader with a number of big salmon flies with double hooks; those salmon flies, as all fishermen know, are mighty expensive luxuries, and it is not customary or even sportsmanlike to put many of them on one line, but I had never caught a salmon and I wanted to make sure that the fish would see my lure and so I strung on as many big gaudy feathered hooks as the space on the leader would admit, then I spread my leader near my fish on the damp moss to soften, so that the moisture might take the coil out of the gut. Now it seems that one of those cubs in nosing around had caught the fly- hooks on his sensitive proboscis and in jumping back had made all the other flies come dancing along the rock. The white cub on seeing the flies running over the sur- face of the rock, had grabbed at them and was also hooked, the cry of pain signaled the time when they pulled the leader taut and sunk the hooks deep into the tender flesh. Their dear mamma, bless her soul! in trying to relieve them of their entangle- ment, had succeeded in plant- ing a big red ibis in her own pendent lower lip. Of course, every time the cubs pulled, it hurt mamma, and every time the cubs hurt mamma, she gave them a cuff. This was intensely interesting to a fish- erman and a nature student, but the temper of Mrs. Eph- raim was becoming more and more ruffled, besides which I happened to remember that it was a long, long way back to camp; furthermore, those flies and that leader were practic- ally ruined and it was no use waiting until the bears got through with them. }

My piel } * Mii iy: J WMI \ <<, REASONED that since the bruin family had appro- priated my fish I might as (Concluded on page 42)

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id XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine 33 Your Dealer has a free booklet illustrating Fisk Visible Value Bicycle ‘Tires. Boys! Why Not Get Together and Form Your Own FISK Bicycle Club EAL good times with your wheels. Camping trips, club runs, signalling, etc. Free middy hats, pennants and buttons for each boy, free club magazine Eighty thousand boys belonged last year. Write for free booklet, ““How to Form a Fisk Bicycle Club,” to Fisk Club Chief, Chicopee Falls, Mass. ee. FISK VICTOR J ~ FISK CORD EXTRA HEAVY “wf

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34 Scouting Section of BOYS’ LIFE OCU RDA LABES Ee 71 Vagltee we OX \ r Wo Le wilt 1 Vy 144,270 vyhe il ll g VA ad \ 4757 of Just the shoe for boys , a VERY boy wants a shoe for spring and “pep” style to it—and lots of wear, too. = and athletic i Here it is—fine brown canvas, with neat trimmings of black leather. | SO! summer with lots of The e and heels are made of the springiest, livest kind of brown rubber. They put extra speed into your feet for all sorts of games, outdoors and indoors. TOE NOT SERVICE SHOE This fine Service Shoe is not like the sneaker or ordinary canvas shoe. It is a real shoe. The brown rubber sole looks just like a regular leather sole and the shoe feels fine and comfortable right trom the start. It won’t hurt your feet. Below is the famous ‘Gym-Bal ”—a white or brown, leather trimmed shoe with leather ankle patch, such as baseball players use, and a fine, non-slip, dark red rubber sole. You can also buy this shoe with patented arch supporting features—the “ Arch- ease” style. Write for the name of the Top Notch dealer who sells these money-saving shoes in your town. Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Co. Dept. F, Beacon Falls, Conn. NEW YORK KANSAS CITY BOSTON MINNEAPOLIS CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO 3? The ‘‘Gym-Bal The most popular shoe we make for outdoor use. Fine white or brown duck. Real leather trimmings, MP Mul 4 774A Z#S pe Goat ae = ae Ten Day Bike Trip By Scout Albert Klaner N Tuesday, July 1st, the scoutmas- ~ Hall, the Liberty Bell, Carpenter’s Hall, and ter and five scouts of the North Haledon, N. J., Troop I set out on a ten-day bicycle trip. The equip- ment of each member of the party consisted of a blanket, change of clothing, sleeping oil cloth, toilet articles, cup, knife, fork, spoon, plate, and a cooking outfit. Four pails which nested constituted the cooking outfit. Passing through Paterson, Montclair, West Orange, we stopped at South Orange for lunch,—taken from home so as to save time, At Springfield, N, J., that afternoon we saw a monument commemorating the Battle of Springfield, and at Bound Brook we saw where the Continental Army had camped. At Somerville we purchased our supper and then rode on, taking a splendid ride through the private park of Duke, the Tobacco King, just as the shades of night were gathering. This necessitated the speedy finding of a camping place for the night and in a short time we found a good one on the grounds of a school house. Ilere we rested our tired and weary bodies (for we had covered forty-nine and a half miles since ten o'clock that morning) for the night. The next morning we rode for a few miles over rather a flat country to a place called Roaring Rocks. It consisted of a stream filled with boulders of all sizes which, when the water ran underneath and around, gave a roaring noise. We were told that Mr. John Hart used this place as a hiding place when pursued by the British during the days of the Revolution. We explored the various holes and caves, some of which were very unique. FTER spending nu little time at the Rocks we proceeded and at Hopewell we were fortunate to see the tombstone of John Hart, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence for New Jersey. At Hope- well we purchased our dinner and cooked it in the woods just outside of the town. After dinner we continued until we came to Marshall's Corner, where we camped, again on an old school ground (the one from which our scoutmaster had graduated), near the home of our scoutmaster’s sister. Late that afternoon we took a ‘“‘dip” in a nearby creek and had a good “feed” at the home of our scoutmas ter’s sister. The following morning we resumed our journey, passing through Pennington, where we saw a church in which some Hessians had camped in the days of the Revolution. Noth- ing else of importance came to our attention until we reached Trenton. The first thing in Trenton we saw was the Battle Monument commemorating the Battle of Trenton. Then we visited the State House and were extreme- ly fortunate in having a city scoutmaster act as our guide through our state capitol He took us to the governor’s chamber and allowed us to sit in the governor's chair. We visited the assembly and senate chambers and the state museum. Needless to say, we enjoyed every minute in this building, Then we visited Trenton Barracks (built in 1758) and Scout Headquarters, where we were royally received by the Scout Executive. We became so in- terested in talking of scouting that we had to hurry to catch a boat for Philadelphia. On the boat fortune was again with us, for we met a gentleman who literally knew the river like a book. He pointed out to us practically every point of interest on the Delaware from Trenton to Philadelphia and to him we felt very much indebted. N Philadelphia we proceeded to Scout Head- quarters, but arrived there so late that most of the people had gone from the office for the day. We found the Philadelphia building a very attractive headquarters. From there we rode through a portion of Fairmount Park and on to the home of a cousin of our scoutmaster in West Philadelphia. There we left our wheels, were treated to ice cream, took our baggage, and journeyed by trolley to Willow Grove, a pleasure resort some sev- enteen miles north of the Quaker City. Here we enjoyed a part of the evening concert, pur- chased our “ eats” and camped for the night just on the outskirts of the park, The next day we rode back to the city, where we saw the Betsy Ross House, grave of Benjamin Franklin, Independence the city hall with its large statue of William Penn. After getting our wheels we rode to Valley Forge, where we camped for the night, This was rather a co-incidental day for it was the Fourth of July. HE following day we visited Washington's Headquarters, Washington's Spring, sawa hut such as had been used for a hospital hut at the time of the Revolution, a monument of Anthony Wayne, and other points of interest. Nothing of importance occurred during the remainder of the day except the passing of the point farthest inland reached by the Brit- ish in the Revolution. That night we camped at Ringing Rocks, just outside of Pottstown, Pa, The next day being Sunday we decided to rest. The one outstanding feature was a trip to Ringing Rocks, This was similar to Roar. ing Rocks, only the rocks rang instead of roared. Monday morning we resumed the journey, All of us seemed to have new life for we went the twenty-one miles between Pottstown and Reading in something like two hours, and there were a considerable number of steep hills on the way. In Reading we looked up Scout Headquarters, but could find no one, for all had gone to camp. We did not linger long in Reading and soon we were out of the town and on our way headed toward Allen- town, Pa. On the way we passed a large sign telling of a “Crystal Cave” a few miles away, and our curiosity aroused we decided to visit the cave. The cave we found all it was adver- tised to be—* One of America’s Greatest Nat- ural Wonders.” ‘This cave extends about five hundred feet into the side of the mountain and is from fifteen to forty feet in height. A guide very carefully and leisurely showed us through the Cave and we classed this experi- ence as being the best of the entire trip. Leaving the cave we got a few miles past Kutztown and were compelled to make camp for that day. ERY little of consequence occurred during the next day and on Tuesday evening we camped on a mountain road just outside of Mauch Chunk, Pa. The following morning we took the famous Switch Back ride on the Mauch Chunk Railway. Enroute we stopped off at Summit Hill, where we visited the burn- ing coal mine. Coming back to Mauch Chunk we decided to go to Easton by train, since we had already traveled over the route which would practically lead to that town and there was a tremendous amount of hill climbing to be done if we rode our wheels. While waiting for the train we were fortunate in meeting the Red Cross Chapter of the town at the station waiting for a troop train to pass through, and in their kindly way they fed us like real soldiers. In due time our train arrived and we were homeward bound. That night we camped in New Jersey, a few miles outside of Washington. The next day we resumed our journey some- what wearily. In the afternoon it commenced to rain, so we decided to take a train for home at the next railroad station, which was Hackettstown. That evening we arrived in Paterson and rode home, arriving just tet days after we left and discussing as to where next bicycle trip would take us. We were extremely lucky in having little wheel trouble, our troubles amounting to two punctures, twenty new spokes (due to an ac- cident), a new seat and a new rod for one of the handle bars. We met with many different kinds of people, all of whom treated us very respectfully, cordially and kindly, proving to us what a great thing it was to be a scout and to wear a scout uniform, and how much the organization was respected all over the country. We will never be sorry for having taken this trip and we would like to encourage others to take a similar one. The distance covered was two hundred miles by boat, trolley and railroad, and approximately three hundred miles on the bikes. The cost per capita for food and all necessaries was twelve dollars. The members of the party were Scoutmaster D. C. Burd and Scouts Albert Klaner, Charles Shepherd, Arthur Collard, Edward Schubert and Elsworth Lord. } XUM

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to ut he er XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine ‘‘Attention’’ Signaling by Hand Flags with the Two-Arm Semaphore Code has been highly developed, and on account of the rapidity and simplicity of this system it should be fa- miliar to all scouts.—Boy Scouts of America Hand Book, This illustrates the Pathfinder signaling **Attention’’ from the top of a hill, and di- recting the movements of his troop. The dependable Briggs & Stratton Motor Wheel is the Boy Scout’s closest friend. It not only helps him to maintain the leader- ship of his ‘“‘outfit,’’ but, delivering packages for stores and doing important errands, speeds up every day for both pleasure and profit, and pays for the Motor Wheel in a very few weeks. Merchants know that the Boy Scout is trustworthy, loyal, courteous, obedient and 100 Miles Per Gallong _SRGGS & Strarroy - a MOTOR Wuee, thrifty, and the fast, always ready delivery service which the Briggs & Stratton Motor Wheel assures, makes it possible for Scouts to maintain a very profitable delivery busi- ness all their own. Go to your Bicycle, Sporting Goods, Hardware or Implement Dealer, and ask him to demonstrate to you. He will also tell you how the wheel can be made to pay for itself. The interesting booklet ‘‘Motor Wheel and Flyer”’ also tells you about it. Write for your copy today. Address Desk ‘‘B.” To obtain a merit badge for Pathfinding in the country, it is necessary for a scout to know every lane, by-path, and short cut for a distance of at least two miles in every direction around the local scout headquarters. BRIGGS & STRATTON COMPANY~ MOTOR WHEEL DIVISION 35 BRIGGS &STRATTON MOTOR WHEEL GENERAL OFFICES AND WORKS — MILWAUKEE WISCONSIN

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36 The wonderful harbor of New York. worth building, 792 feet high, in the background, and in | , | degree of intelligence, for good sense, and for the foreground enormous wharves and docks and thou- | sands of ships. liners and Uncle Sam’s warships. Why not have a whole fleet like that? many styles and sizes—can be bought at almost all good t \ stores. ‘e2eeees {eeeuas Boats just like the real ones—they run by power in water The famous Wool- Busy tugs, big ferry boats, giant ocean Ives steel boats— They go swiftly through the water driven by screw propellers and strong, long running motors. You can have barrels of fun with Ives boats all summer long in ponds, brooks or at the seashore. liners, freighters, tugs, yachts, destroyers and submarines You can build wharves, docks, canals and The boats are finely painted. \merican toys, made by that dive. harbors. like the real ones. They are There are ocean They look just American workmen—the best in the world. GET THIS BOOK. Send 4c. in stamps for a fine book, “ Ships and Shipping,” which is finely illustrated and tells all about ships, the Ameri- can Merchant Marine, nautical terms, nals and rules of the sea, Ives . 7) ) c 200 Fifth Ave., New York City Factory: Bridgeport, Conn, Ives Mfg. Corporation BOYS’ LIFE IWhen You Grow Up Agriculturalist? National Headquarters. N recent years there has been an in- creased and unusual interest on the part of the whole world in the business of farming. People in other occupa- tions, particularly those in business and commerce, have. come to appreciate that farm- ing is the economic basis of every type of work and enterprise. No other industry has experienced so great a growth and develop- merit. The progressive farmers of to-day are practical scientists ; they know how to trans- late scientific information into common prac- | tice. To succeed? in farming, one must under- stand the care of the soil and how to conserve | it; he must be thoroughly informed concerning best methods of fertilizing, systems of rotat- ing crops, and the tillage of various soils. Every farmer must be a business manager, salesman, bookkeeper, and an all-around man of ability and skill. In a measure, the farmer must be both a bacteriologist and an ento- mologist, for unless he knows how to combat the insect pests and plant diseases of grow- ing crops, trees, and farm animals, he will meet his Waterloo in the battle with these enemies. Scientific breeding of stock, and the fitting of every farm enterprise into the farm- ing business as a whole are of utmost impor- tance. A man must understand markets and methods of marketing. The adjustment of time in the use of labor, machinery, animals } and acres, so as to secure a maximum return, is important in these @ays of business com- petition and increasing land values. All these varied fields of activity in connection with the business of farming, call for the greatest constant fidelity to the cause of American rural life as well as all-round farm efficiency. HE business of farming offers to-day a ca- reer second to none to be found among the industrial or business vocations. It re- quires and rewards initiative and enterprise. | The farmer will always be an important fac- tor in American wealth and progress, and is | destined to take still higher rank as a con- tributor to industrial and social welfare. The ambitious scout who enters this field must be a boy of courage and ability to stick to his job. For such a boy there is a prom ising future ahead, First and last, our advice to scouts is to get the best obtainable education, both gen- eral and practical. The educated man, as Carlyle tells us, works with a strength bor- rowed from all past ages. The “ university of hard knocks and practical experience ” has its advantages as a training school, but its courses need to be generously supplemented? by other more specialized means of educa- tion, Skill in the use of the hands only will never make more than a good workman. Men rise only in proportion as their brains are alert, active, and trained. To learn more is to earn more, and not only that; to learn more is to be more, to count for more, to yourself and the com- munity—no small consideration for a scout. The boy who must leave school early and yet desires to enter the profession of farming should obtain work on a well-equipped farm where he can gain a broad, helpful ex- perience. The scout should not forget that opportunity for development and money for labor invested do not always go together when one is learning a business. Choose the farm that offers the greatest chance to learn the operations common to the business; the modern types of machinery; farm animals, especially those of registered stock; well- equipped building, and marketing problems. The money will then take care of itself. Farmers as well as business men are looking for boys quick to learn and to take an active interest in their work, I’ possible, take up some phase of boys’ and girls’ club work, Join a pig, sheep, corn or poultry club. Inquire of the county agent, the county club leader, or the agricultural teacher in your locality. Write to the exten- sion department of your State agricultural college. Through these agencies you can be supplied with literature pertaining to the work on the farm, and you will be able to learn from them where you can gain informa- tion pertaining to your farming activities. If possible, join the county farm bureau at their meetings. You will become acquainted with the agricultural problems of the county and of your community. If you are asked to take part in some special work, do not hesi- tate to accept. You will help them, and the QU TUNNEL This article is reprinted from the Merit Badge Pamphlet on Agriculture published by National Headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America, and because of lack of space, has necessarily been greatly curtailed. For a more extensive survey of the subject see the official pamphlet issued by P| DULHANN experience will help you in getting better acquainted with men who have made farming a success, Find out when the short courses in agriculture occur at the State College of Agriculture. Perhaps you can earn money sufficient to attend. Many high schools have vecational courses made possible through the enactment by Congress of the Smith-Hughes bill, In the summer vacation periods, a scout ean easily obtain a position on some good farm where much valuable experience can be gained. The scout finds in such work an op- portunity to apply the general scientifie prin- ciples of the school room. Here, too, the boy ean test out his own enthusiasm and decide if agriculture is really his profession. The scout should become acquainted with as many successful farmers as possible, Get their point of view relative to the problems they are seeking to solve. Study and compare their methods. Listen attentively ; ask ques- tions; think for yourself, ECOME acquainted with all the sources of gricudtural information. Meet the coun- ty agent or county club leader of your county. Avail yourself of all the advantages made possible by the extension department of your State College of Agriculture. If possible, go to college. Working one’s way through col- lege is not an impossibility for any healthy, ambitious boy. Scouts who are intending to go on after high school to one of our many good agri- cultural colleges should make the selection as early as possible in order that they may, with the co-operation of teachers, obtain the proper preparation with no loss of time or energy. For information of requirements, the student should consult the official bulletins of the various colleges. Most of these give an itemized list of expenses. If you decide on your State Agricultural College, there will be no charge for tuition. Many boys just after graduation are not able to buy a farm. To these there are count- less other opportunities open whereby they can make use of their agricultural training to very good advantage. The demand for well-trained men from the best schools is great enough to insure the placing of practi- eally all graduates soon after graduation—in many cases, before graduation. The manage- ment of large farms or ranches offers good experience, and oftentimes a good salary. Large salaries are paid in many cases to men of experience, Agricultural colleges and experiment sta- tions employ approximately 8,500 on their faculties and staffs. The extension service workers number approximately 6,500, and the number would be greatly increased were trained men and funds available, NDER these conditions numerous teach- ing positions are open to men qualified to fill such positions in our agricultural colleges, in our vocational schools, and in our agri- eultural high schools located in every section of the country. Each year, alse, many appointments of research experts and assist- ants are made to the staffs of our agricul- tural experiment stations, as well as of dem- onstrators and lecturers in extension work, and of county agricultural agents, home dem- onstration agents, and club leaders, Experiment work is exceedingly interesting, and preparation for it can to greater ad- vantage be undertaken by those who have had some agricultural college training, oT even agricultural high school training, com- bined with practical experience in agricul- ture. Half the battle is won when one has Getermined to achieve efliciency in some line of work, and to take such training as is re- quired to prepare one to enter into agricul- tural service as an expert. To the Agricultural Extension Service es- tablished by our Government in connection with the Department of Agriculture and the State Agricultural Colleges was due _ this agricultural co-operation enabling the Amer ican farmer in a great emergency to meet practically every demand for _ production promptly and effectively. Much remains to be done to perfect the co- operation of organizations in developing county communities, but a broad foundation has been laid for the service, and well- trained men are employed to carry the results of scientific research, demonstration work, and practical experience to the farmer.

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IFE iter ing "Ses of ney in- iy. de ur XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine 37 VITALIC TRADE MARK) REGISTEREO Bicycle Tires pe ae) et) ‘ee ‘5% ipl I, ix & “Some Tires, I'll Say!’ “I bought this pair of Vitalics bia, Dayton, Emblem, Excelsior, over six months ago and haven’t Harley-Davidson, Indian, Iver had a puncture yet ”’ Johnson, Miami, Pierce, and Yale use Vitalic Tires as regular equip- ment on their better grade wheels. ae! ‘ : Vitalics are built to stand up under all conditions of service. Punctures are almost unknown to The price of Vitalic Tires is a Vitalic users because of the qual- little higher than other tires, but ity and: thickness of the rubber the cost when figured on a mile- and the toughness of the fabric. age basis is far lower than other That’s why Vitalics are used by tires. And that’s what counts. bicycle riders of long experience. Ask your dealer to show you And that’s why manufacturers a Vitalic Tire. Then put the of such leading bicycles as Colum- proposition up to dad. Some Inside Information All Vitalic Tires are made with an extra-strong 1414-ounce fabric. The strongest fabric used in most bicycle tires is 12-ounce—and as a rule bicycle tire fabrics are even lighter. Here is a magnified cross-section of 1414-ounce Vitalic fabric compared with an equally magnified cross-section of 12-ounce fabric. CONTINENTAL RUBBER WORKS, Erie, Pa. “Tougher Than Elephant Hide” 14%4-ounce Sy oe ~s * . , . e* ee ewe Oi eeaor ee eeewere 0, 12-0unce 10% eVoes “te peTc TT ~@ +*QGewtee owe Sr. euWee ee a ai “7-4 *%*eae BSeetrwereteewrere’ diel . . * ese? — sw, ‘* ~t eee | * e . ee¢ eee ’ 33: heseseee eeeete ee ~W*eeeian Perrrert ere rs eesceeteteteegeeee eetesseoe eee eetce eeseseeeeseet oats eeene *eeeeee tae es eeehte te erertetetee S@eeeeeeeeeeu Gete a¢eeweegeeeted eas

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38 You can learn alot from car owners about tires OMETIMES you find a car owner who also rides a bicycle. Notice how anxious he is to have the right kind of bicycle tires. This is because his experience with a car has taught him that tires must be picked out carefully. ‘Any” tire won't do. So, he is delighted when he learns that he can get bicycle tires with the same name and in the same design as the U. S. Royal Cords and the U. S. Chain Treads that are used on automobiles. ~ As acar owner, he knows that he doesn’t have to worry about wear or money’s worth, once he sees the name “U.S.” on any tire—for it tells him that the great United States Rubber Company, oldest in the world, with its high reputation for high value tires, is back of his purchase. You can be sure of your tires, just the same way the car owner is, if you pick your tires as he does. All the resources, men and equipment of the world- wide organization that builds U. §. Automobile Tires and U.S. Truck Tires are behind U. S. Bicycle Tires. They are built as carefully as though bicycle tires were the only kind of tires this company makes. Find the dealer who sells good bicycles and U. 8. Bicycle Tires—the two go together. INE different styles, both clincher and single tube—choose the tread that suits you best: U.S. Cords, U.S. Chain Tread, Giant Stud, G&J Corru- gated, G&J Chain Tread, G&J Herringbone, Heavy Overland and Nonpareil. Service, Thornproof Send for the fascinating, well-illustrated book,‘‘Rubber—A W onder Story.” Address U.S. Rubber Co., Bicycle Tire Division, New York nited States Tires United States @ Rubber Company BOYS’ LIFE gy 4 NNUNNIUNNNENNLUONUURUQULUQOOLUUOQOSLSLUQOQUEEUUOQOEROLENEEEULEONUELOLOCEEALYUEUSELOOOQEEOUOOEDEOUUENEE OOOO OGLE - ° : Jim of the Labrador Z By Reginald Strachey—Age 14 = gover nuusnneeeanendgnnunnnanacsuannngnsugnsvennanennsengaangaenasnitt TURTLE ; IS name was Jim and he was a tune. large black fighting dog. He had roamed the wild forests of the cold and bleak Labrador since early puppyhood. His only companions were the wild beasts of the forest. He knew only one man and that man was his bitter enemy. The man’s name was Francois, a trapper who hunted in the Labrador in winter, The winter in which this story occurred was one of the coldest that had been known in the Labrador for many years. All the ani- PTT Lee ELH LP eee eee OPE TT He set off at a trot for the cabin of Francois to try and wreck the vengeance for which his wolfish heart was yearning. He reached the cabin and found that Francois was out. Finding the door unlocked he forced his way inside, At the end of an hour all of the eatables not in tins were devoured or de- stroyed by the big black brute. Then he dis. covered a choice bundle of furs in one corner of the cabin and he willfully began to tear and rip them to pieces with his long sharp teeth and claws. When he had finished this destructive task he set off in search of more mals had grown bold with hunger. Jim food and adventure. It was not long before would steal the he found plenty of i 6 e fete soiled the latter in an un- ele = lle HNN ULM expected manner, rit ' As he rounded without get-, ting caught be- Our Short Story Contest a bend on the side cause he had (Rules for Siort Story Contest Published on Page 51) a Seana learned the secret of the deadly steel by constant The prize in our Short Story Contest this month is awarded to Reginald Strachey of Brooklyn, N. Y., age 14, for his story cabin he came face to face with a big, traps &. : : eAetve surveillance when “Jim of the Labrador. brown, _ tawny Francois was set- Excellent stories were submitted to the April Contest by pogo He had ting them. After B Perry Griffiths, age 17, by Robert O. Fink, age 14, and by “om bane Ds = is ft é iia 7 . ) , ‘i ‘tore 44 met gry he ; Ibis Culbert, sail 16. . the cat bave an F is idec \ mn MRT ugly snarl an dearer i a INNULNAALL mar! 2a to get rid of the big black thief which he had occasionally seen lurking in the vicinity of some of his traps. So he poisone® a piece of meat and rubbed it with animal fat to quench the smell of the poison. He than placed the poisoned meat in one of the traps which Jim frequented most. Along came Jim at about two o’clock in the after- noon and earefully approached the trap which held the deadly piece of meat. He sniffed at it suspiciously and detected a strange smell. However, the smell was not strong, due to the fat, and Jim had been without a meal for two whole days. He took a bite and immediately detected a strange taste. He spit the meat out, but not before the poison had a chance to take effect. Jim seemed to be seized by the back of the neck and shaken violently, such was the strength of the poison. He spit and snarled and choked and writhed desperately for about ten minutes. It was only his wonderful strong constitution, developed by his rough and ready life in the great north forests, that finally pulled him through. However, he was left a much weaker dog than before. He crawled to his cave, which he had found in a well conceale@? part of the woods, and spent the rest of that day and the long night which followed in recovering from the effects of the poison which had so nearly caused his death. He awoke the next morning a little shaky from his experience of the day before, but in all pretty much recovered. He had no doubt as to who had been the cause of his misfor- - The Lights of Home | (Continued from page 7) made a leap which landed her within a few feet of Jim. Then the battle of the giants began. ‘The mountain cat was old, and although she was not as quick as the big black agile, supple hound who confronted her, her claws and teeth were far more dan- gerous. With a final leap the monstrous cat flung herself at the dog, who cleverly dodged aside and tried to seize her by the throat. The battle was on. They clawed, snarled, spit, fought and leaped at each other for about a half hour. -At the end of this time both were bleeding freely from various wounds, Nearer and nearer to the edge of the moun- tain rolled the pair in their death grapple. About ten minutes later up the side of the mountain with great long strides came Fran- cois on the trail of the black thief who had recently done so much damage in his cabin. In his hand he carried his rifle, with which he had vowed to kill the dog. As he came around a bend he saw a sight which made him stop an@ stare for sheer amazement. There on the edge of the mountain were the black hound and the brown, tawny wildcat fighting for their lives. Even as Francois looked he heard the cat give a yell of terror and a shrill scream as she was pushed over the cliff by the exhausted, almost dead hound. Francois could not find it in his heart to shoot a dog who had fought so nobly. How- ever, his bullet was not needed to end the life of the big black fighting dog. By the time Francois reached his side he was breathing his last and died with a look of triumph in his steely black eyes, HITE within hearing distance, but he glanced tim- orously down the road to make sure that no passers-by might overhear the disgraceful orgy. After convincing himself that no one was in sight, he pushed open the door and stepped inside, breathing hard and prepared to @eliver a scathing rebuke to his sons and, if necessary, to the entire household. As he entered the hall the whole house shook with a terrific commotion. Mingled with shouts and laughter came a succession of bumps and thuds, as if heavy pieces of furniture were being moved about and dropped recklessly to the floor. Mr. Trimble hastened through the hall to the door of the big living room. After one peep through the portieres he drew back with a gasp. In the center of the room a fat clown, in full costume and with grotesquely painted face, was bouncing about in all sorts of strange antics, dancing, falling down, springing up again as if he were made of rubber, turning handsprings, and puffing des- perately with the exertion. Not in years had the clown tried so hard to please an audience. He was his old self again, as he had been in his palmy days of youthful enthusiasm, and he knew that he had never given a better performance in all his career. Grouped at one end of the room and applauding vigor- ously were Mrs. Trimble, Peter Trimble, jun- ior, the cook and the two maids, while stretched on a couch was Bill, his pinched face aglow with pleasure and excitement. Mr. Trimble’s first impulse had been to rush in and demand an explanation from all con- cerned, but the face of Bill caught his atten- tion and held him spellbound. He had never seen the boy looking so happy, so full of enthusiasm, so little like a pining invalid as at that moment, and as he stood behind the portieres watching him he forgot how furi- TTT ously angry he had been. He felt that he could forgive a good many transgressions if they brought any cheer into the dreary mo- notony of Bill’s life. For a moment he was almost pleased. But, as he turned the mat- ter over in his mind and reflected that the clown had been brought into his home and permitted to give his outrageous performance without the knowledge or consent of the head of the family his temper began to rise again. It was Peter Trimble, junior, who brought him to a swift decision. “Oh, gee!” exclaimed young Peter, wish I could go with a show.” TUODUTELETERENTNDSEU TNE NTNTNATTT “] UCH a declaration as that was too much for Peter Trimble, senior, to tolerate for an instant, and, thrusting the portieres aside, he strode into the room boiling with indig- nation. The Trimble family and the servants seemed to wilt as they saw him coming. The clown, sensing that something had gone wrong, brought his performance to a sudden end, “What's the meaning of this?” demanded Mr. Trimble. “Who is responsible for put- ting such a notion into my son’s head?” Still puffing from his exertion, the clown turned to the outraged head of the house- hold. “I guess the kid inherited that notion from his dad,” he retorted. “What!” thundered Mr. Trimble. accuse me of corrupting my boy?” The clown paused for a moment to catch his breath, then, advancing upon Mr. Trimble and shaking a finger at that astonished man's nose, he exclaimed, “‘ Why, you old hypocrite, you wanted to run away with a circus your- self once.” “Where did you ever hear that?” Mr. Trim- ble demanded, turning very red. (Concluded on page 51) “You XUM

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IFE, The Boy Scouts’ Magazine 39 : Pennsylvania | Beige - : _AUTOBILT ; BICYCLE TIRES led, for ime ls ul- the “an- had bin. lich ime ade nt. the cat ois ror ver nd, to OW- life ime ing in me he Aa HAT final distinctive touch is added to your “ high grade bicycle when you equip with re Vacuum Cup Autobilt Cord or Fabric Tires. a That feeling of security that comes from the skid- in. ° - safe Vacuum Cup tread on wet, “‘skiddy” " pavements also is yours. And ‘you soon learn what practically puncture- ch y nq proof, stone bruise-proof, and trouble-proof rd bicycle tire service means. ~ N the 1920 line of , — - I Sennen teania Both Cord and Fabric types have white side walls en é Autobilt Bicycle and the famous Vacuum Cup tread, the Cord ~ Tires there is a tread tread being jet black, the Fabric red. mn design, quality, and They are miniature automobile tires, built mn price for _ re- bicycle size—longest-wearing, most resilient, yu qenaee. — speediest. made in one univer- ‘. sal size to fit either PENNSYLVANIA RUBBER COMPANY, Jeanette, Pa. My . 28""x134", 28""x1/2" Direct Fact B hes and Service Agencies Throughout e or 28’’x1 54” rim. Also eres sno United States and Canada n- Juvenile sizes. Export Department: Woolworth Building, New York City XUM

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40 our | OwnNMotion Ictures All the places you have wanted to visit, all the scenes you have wanted to see, the spots where you have the most fun—you can see and visit them all, ride as far as you > like, stay as long = eee as you wish, with- c ane out expense — if you own an Iver Johnson Bicycle. JOHNSON BICYCLES Iver Johnson Juve- nile Bicycles embody Iver Johnson adult construction through- out. Seamless steel tubing, perfect 2- point bearings, drop- forged parts, one- piece hubs, superb enamel and _ nickel finish, and the best equipment make Iver Johnson the King of Bicycles— unbeatable for good looks, easy riding, speed, and strength, Iver Johnson Juvenile Bicycles $37.50 to $42.50 (No extra charge for Coaster Brake) Other Models $50.00 and up Write today for Free Bicycle Catalog “B’’ IVER JOHNSON’S ARMS & CYCLE WORKS 342 River St., Fitchburg, Mass. 99 Chambers Street, New York 717 Market Street, San Francisco GREAT campaign is be- throughout ing waged the United States to pro- mote public safety. In es regular schools and colle courses will be given on pre- venting accidents. On a cer- tain day clergymen in many churches will preach on the subject. The police are to be in- structed in the best way of safe- people, Vigilance com- guarding mittees appointed in are to be cities and towns to influence the local governments to safeguard There everyone as far as possible. passed are to be many new laws regulating traffic on the streets and the conditions of the schools, fac- tories, office buildings and private houses. The movement to making life safe for all will find no more enthusiastic or intelligent friends than the Boy Scouts. i some schools in out of the way places geography was taught years ago by singing the lessons. The class would learn the width of the English Channel for instance by droning the following doggerel, “From Calais to Dover is eigh- teen miles over.” We have learned a great deal about geography since those days, but half the world is still amazing- ly ignorant of where the other half lives, Just before the war a party of scientists from the University of Berlin made a trip to Alabama to make astronomical observations, an@ asked the Government in ad- vanee for a guard to protect them against wild Indians. How many of us know, however, that the same temperature is found in St. New York, and central Ice- land? that in some of the Aleu tian Islands linking Siberia with Alaska water never freezes? that Rome is on the same parallel of latitude with Albany and Roches- ter? winter Louis, E will soon see a great new W trade route between America and Europe crowded with freight and passenger traffic. The nearest port in all Europe to New York is Vigo, Spain. America is building a great modern harbor at this point and the work to cost $20,000,000 is being directed by a great Ameri- ean engineering firm. The largest and fastest steamers may soon be crossing by this shortene@ route ind we will have three-day boats to Europe, From Vigo fast trains will carry passengers and the mails to Paris, saving a day or more of time in travel between the two con tinents, We have often heard of the beautiful silver tone of very old church bells in Europe and some have even been bought at a great price and brought to America. It was supposed that after a bell had rung regularly for one or two mysterious quality and the beautiful some centuries developed, was tone could be acquired in no other way. An ingenious American stud- ied the problem, however, and de- cide@ that the silver tone was sim- ply due to the fact that the clapper of the bell had worn itself and the bell by continued striking, until the two fit closely together and that the shape of the metal and nothing else determined the tone. He be gan to make bells by casting them so that the clapper and the bell fit each other properly, and the mel- low silvered tone was obtained at ones Today we are manufactur ing such bells and selling them abroad, as American captain of aviation f has volunteered to be l designe@ to be the planet scientist pas senger on a rocket from the earth to \ distinguished with the Smithsonian shot Mars, connected Institution has just invented a mul tiple charge, high efficiency rocket for exploring the unknown regions of the upper air, which might, it reach the moon, rrding in- even may carry re¢ is thought, The rocket struments to extreme altitude never before reached and bring back valu- able data, The aviator who has volunteered for the trip wants to make certain changes in this ex- traordinary craft before he starts aloft. \ HEN a hole is worn in tapu cloth it is only necessary to moisten the edges and beat them SCUQHUUULUUURAAUILEAAUAULEA UU AEA Pops of Popular Science By Francis Arnold Collins rlNNNNNUUUUUUUN UAL ~~ Typical British Dirigible, such as may be used for trans-atlantie trade. 7 HERE has been a great difference of opinion in the past as to the best form of frame for the model aeroplane and many successful models have been built along entirely different lines. Most model builders in the United States and England, after countless experiments, come to use much the same kind of frame. The idea, of course, extreme lightness and simplicity of construction with the The frame must be tough enough have is to combine greatest possible degree of strength. to withstand the powerful pull of the rubber motors when wound up to the limit. The frame is almost invariably a long triangle built of strips of spruce. The base or short side of the triangle is used for mounting the propellers. The strips of rubber which form the motors are strung from the propellers at the base to the forward or sharp end of the frame. The planes or wings are fastened to the upper side of the frame, the larger wing near the base, the smaller one well forward near the pointed end. The exact position of the wings on the base cannot be decided in advance. The best plan is to experiment with them in different positions until the best are fastened by tying with rubber bands. The size of the may vary but the about three-eighths of an inch by one-quarter of an inch, result is obtained when they dimension is Select straight will be well to spruce strips best crained wood, well seasoned, and without flaws. It start with a frame about thirty inches in length. You will therefore need two strips of the same length, say thirty inches. The base of the frame or triangular frame will be a strip of spruce twelve inches in length, and about three-cighths by one-quarter of an inch. All the strips should first be planed smooth and sandpapered, fastened securely together by slightly The two longer strips are bevelling them at one end and gluing and binding them together with strong thread touched with glue. Now take a piece of stiff wire four inches long, bend it in the form of the-letter V and bind this securely over the point of the frame, Next bend back the ends of the wire to form two round hooks, over which the rubber strands of the motor may be looped. tefore attaching the base stick to the frame drill holes through them with a gimlet about three-cighths of an inch from the ends. The base is then attached to the other sides of the triangle by slightly mortising the ends of the frame and the base stick and fastening them rigidly by gluing and tying. Do not use nails of any kind. Do not them, for they are already cut away the sticks far enough to weaken The entire frame should light and you will need their entire strength. now be carefully sandpapered and varnished. There are several special preparations manufactured for this purpose, but a thin varnish will answer. It is important that every part of the frame be smooth and free from projections in order to reduce the wind resistance. BOYS’ LIFE together, cloth Tapu Was once woven or pounded inte shape in many parts of the South Sea Islands. it is made of the bark of the banana, breadfruit or mu berry. The rough outer bark is first scraped off and the inner fibers are beaten to- gether and allowed to ferment. §o fine is the texture of the cloth that one would never imagine it had been prepared in this crude manner, It is bleached to a dazzling white color in the sun, ard is practically indestructible. ; HERE is no more fascinating school book in the world than the educational film which is be. coming more and more common every day in schools, colleges and churches. No boy need be driven to study any lesson taught in this way. The Unite? States Bureau of Mines is at present conducting a nation-wide educational campaign to make us more familiar with the nation’s leading industry, coal min- ing. The films make it possible for us to see every detail of the com- plicated and laborious work of locating coal, of mining it and bringing it to the surface. Few visitors would have the courage to follow the camera man throughout his explorations. i a recent Lodge, the scientist who is now visiting America, announced that the earth would probably continue to exist for 20,000,000 years more. These are, lecture Sir eminent Oliver English of course, round numbers. Some scientists estimate that the earth will live for ten times this age, There have been animals of one kind and another on this planet for fully this length of time. The dinosaurs are believed to have lived through some such period. The age of man, which is probably only a few thousand years, the merest trifle by comparison. When we consider how man had developed during recorded history which is than ten thousand years we may hope that he will evolve to an infinitely finer type in the future. seehs less "Ryerson who live in cities are much more healthy as a rule than their country cousins In some parts of the United States the country bred boy is fifteen per cent more unhealthy than the city boy. This surprising state of af- fairs has been discovered after long investigation earried on throughout the country by the Teachers College in New York. The condition is explained by many things, such as in ventilation, sanitary conditions, and the lack of education eity children receive at to how to take care of a wealth of energy equal to ten times the horsepower carelessness such as schools as themselves. generated by Niagara Falls goes to waste on our farms The Govern ment has been experimenting in a special station near Washington in burning the straw, corn stalks and other fodder which is commonly thrown away. By using a little retort built for the purpose a farmer can transform this waste product into enough gas to light and heat his home and have energy enough besides to run his farm machinery. If all the farmers of the country can be persuaded to burn up their refuse in this way the energy saved will add about $2.000,000,000 to the wealth of the ecuntry every year. Li bien distance air transporta will soon be a common- place. The successful trip from London to Australia recently com pleted has encouraged Great Brit ain to lay out a number of great air routes connecting England by great trunk lines with its posses sions, The service will be main taine@? at first by air ships later doubtless by aeroplanes first of these trunk lines will con nect London with Canada by way of Newfoundland. Another | line will run from England to India: this will later be extended to Aus tralia. Still another line will operate between London and Egypt and will be extended to South Africa. The air lines will be backed by large Government sub- sidies, XUM

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XUM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine 41

Ride a ‘Bicycle

‘My Reading Standard will beat em every time” “Come on fellows! You'll have to hurry some, if you're Boing to beat me there. It'll take another Reading Standard and faster le%s than mine to do it.” eAny boy—once he rides a Reading Standard—would issue the same challenge that Bob has. Free, easy cycling, action, to- pether with low, graceful, well proportioned lines—make the “Reading Standard a wonder for speed and durability. cA distinctive feature by which you can always knowa “Reading Standard is the Gothic Breen loop head. It adds to the bicycle’s appearance at the same time siving, strenfth to the frame. Go to the Reading Standard dealer in your city and see the new 1920 models, There are several different models, including, the popular curved top bar, motor-bike type. Your dealer will gladly let you Set on and experience the easy comfort which a Reading Standard ives. GREAT WESTERN MANUFACTURING CO. 208 Washington St. LA PorTE, IND.

Bicycle scouts will find in the “Reading Standard many points of superiority, First of all, it is light weight, yet sturdy and dur- ableinconstruction. Thecyclin3, action is easy, smooth and free running, so as to enable one to get the utmost of enjoyment with a minimum of exertion. Every part of Reading Standard equipment is the best made—including, coaster brake and tires of national reputation. The beautiful enamel finish is lasting, and will wear for years and years.

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42 ;, Sharp Turn! Simplest thing in the world for this fellow. His coaster steers with the ease of a Blitzen Benz on a speedway. That is one of the features that the ‘Auto-Wheel designers insisted upon when they created the Auto-Whelacoadster Auto-wWheel Coaster They built roller-bearing wheels of the The Auto-Wheel Coaster Famous for years as the all ’round boys’. wagon, FREE BOOKLET de- scribes the many features which cut-under type—strong and low—but fleet make it a model of speed and y , strength, as a racer, The Auto-Wheel is a racer—a long, grace- ful underslung speedster. The wide sweep of the steering tongue makes the sharpest turn easy—a new devel- opment in coasters. And those wheels of seasoned ash will stand the strain without dishing, or losing their true alignment. Auto-Wheel riders develop into the best The Auto-Wheel Convertible motorists, for they learn to judge distances Roadster —learn to squeeze through the tight places. The double purpose wagon. Two ae views show how it can be changed Their eyes are keen to watch the traffic, and in a minute from a roadster to a _" their nerves are steadied by confidence in the Auto-Wheel—the coaster that will carry 1000 pounds without a whimper. Auto-Wheel Pennant FREE Send us names of 3 local coaster dealers, mentioning which one handles coaster wag- ons with “Auto-Wheel ” on the sides. We'll send you a handsome felt pennant FREE— also the Auto-Wheel Booklet (giving details speed wagon. No bolts necessary. Just a unique trick of construction. of our coasters) and our new magazine for be YS. Learn about the Auto-Wheel Prize Contests, and the Auto-Wheel Coaster Clubs. Find out about those free caps for club members—and the special Captain’s Cap for the organizer. We want you to have one The Buffalo Sled Company 131 Schenck Street N. Tonawanda, N. Y. In Canada: Preston, Ont. BOYS’ LIFE MATT TT TTT TTT TUM HUAN For the Wireless Amateur By “Spark Gap” HE amateur wireless man is surprised to find that there are almost an endless number of methods of connecting or “ hook- ing up” the various apparatus of a wire- less station. There are a few funda- mental rules which the beginner’ should learn, and later he may improve upon them by inventions of his own. Although almost any flat top table or desk will answer for mounting the wireless apparatus it is well to make a selection with certain things in mind. The table should be large enough to contain all the instru- ments without crowding, leaving room for the operator to write. It will be found convenient to have a straight back or up- right for the table on which meters, switches and other apparatus may be mounted in full view. The instruments should be so placed that the wires connecting them are as short as possible since long wires often lead to confusion. The receiving instru- ments should be placed for convenience at one end of the table and the transmitting set at the other so that each can be con- nected up without crossing the wires. The general principle should, of course, be clearly understood before any attempt is made to connect up and operate a set. It should be remembered that when the electric waves pass through the air after being sent out by some transmitting station, they are picked up by the aerial of your receiving station. Oscillating currents are now set up in the receiving aerial. These waves i Jonesy’s Cabrita 92 “vo (Concluded from page our fort was in shape it was daylight and we came out of our hole then and gathered up the dead bandits. UT the Lieutenant was feeling pretty blue at the loss of the horses and I was not feeling any too cheerful myself, for they had taken my old “ Charley Horse.” “There’s one thing about it,” I said to the Lieutenant, ‘‘it’s born in these fellows to be tricky,” and I told him how Cabrita had come spying around the night before. Just then one of the sentries we had put out came running in from the ford. “Here they come back,” he yelled, “ with reinforcements.” We scuttled back to the forage pile and got ready to give them a welcome. Up the rise from the ford they came and then we let out a yell for there was the red and white guidon flapping in the breeze and the Old Man at the head. Behind him came the troop with our horses and a big bunch of the bandits on their cayuses, to boot. I got Jonesy one side while the Old Man and the Lieutenant were swapping stories and he told me how the troop had caught the Mexicans at the mouth of the Pass and am- bushed them. “I’m glad you got the little one, anyway,” I said, nedding towards Cabrita, who sat all humped up on his pony, nearby. “Got him, you boob!” said Jonesy, forget- ting his manners. “If it hadn’t been for him they might have got us. He rode all night to give us warning.” I had nothing to say then. I do not know now whether to thank the Cabrita or Jonesy’s smile for pulling the troop out of that hole, have a definite length of so many feet, and the aerial must be adjusted to their length in order to get the best results. This is accomplished by using a tuning coil which consists of a cylinder around which a single layer of wire is wound. The sliders or contacts move over these wires just touch- ing them, so that it is possible by moving the sliders to add to or subtract from the amount of wire in the circuit. The oscillating currents will have no effect on a telephone receiver used for listening in on the circuit, and must first be passed through a device known as a detector. This detector consists of a piece of some mineral, usually silicon or galena, which is held firmly in a small cup while a fine wire point known as “cat's whisker” is held in light contact with it. Now when the oscillating currents strike the detector they are in- stantly changed into direct currents. These direct currents pass in turn through the telephone receiver and are changed into a buzzing sound which duplicates the signals sent out miles away by the transmitting station. In some circuits a loose coupler is employed which serves the same purpose as the tuning coil, and is constructed along the same lines. The loose coupler has two windings in place of one, as in the tun- ing coil, and is therefore much more sen- sitive. Most receiving sets are, of course, far more complicated than this and employ many other mechanisms, but the general principle of their operation is the same, J] TT HAUL THULE TATU TTT TET TTETTHETTTTTPTT ag a o ° Camping Incident (Concluded from page 32) UEUUALLALANUAU EAU ALAL MALLE Fi HUSNDUVNEEUUOEELUSOEOTONEYANEEOOEEELLOUOUUOSOEOGAEEOUOAUOAEEUUEUE ONAN well be generous and present them with the ninefoot leader and the bunch of expensive salmon flies, just to show that my heart was in the right place. I had carried those salmon flies for years, they had occupied val- uable space in my fly-book and I had never had occasion to use them. Besides that, it was necessary between times to keep the flies carefully stowed away in a preserve jar 80 that the moths would not destroy them; in thinking it over I decided that they were an awful lot of trouble. And what was the sense in mourning over the lost fish, for there -must have been at least twelve or fourteen pounds of fish that I would have had to tote back with me if it had not been for the good turn of Mrs. Grizzly and those two cubs. Sut that was not all that influenced my decision to leave; to tell the truth I did not at all like the ex- pression of the old bear’s face when the cubs would pull on the leader. I suppose that the leader must have snapped, of course it must have snapped sooner or later, but the wisdom of the wild told me not to wait for that to occur, and that the time for me to go was right at the beginning of this little act, and before this family party disengaged itself. When I reached camp and told of my ex- perience, the story was greeted with the great- est of hilarity. The rascals did not believe me and I don’t suppose they believe this story to- day. Personally I so dread being ranked with the nature-fakirs that lots of my choicest adventures are never told, and this is one that I never before tol@ and you would not have heard it this time but for the fact that the Editor was in an awful hurry and could not think of any other one on the spur of the mcenent, XUM

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E The Boy Scouts’ Magazine 43 ] J L ’ J . e i American-Made e es e : Toy Brigade is Forming Boys—and girls, too! That new club, the “ Ameri- ; can-Made Toy Brigade,” is starting. Children all over the land are forming local posts—just like their big brothers have formed local posts of the American | Legion. Those boys and girls who insist on playing only with “ American-Made Toys” are responsible. They want | a club—and a club emblem to express the pride and pleasure they obtain from insisting on only American- ’ Made Toys—and it makes them feel good to know they are supporting American industries. So there’s to be a club emblem. A handsome red, white and blue button you can wear and display and be proud of. You can see the design just peeping over the hills in this picture. Next month your toy store will have them to distribute to you—a button for every boy and girl who plays with Amer- ican-Made Toys. Watch this toy store window for the announcement ana get your button and be one of the charter members of this nat’on-wide organiza- tion. This space is contributed to the cause of American industries by the Toy Manufacturers of the U. 8, A. TOY MANUFACTURERS of the U.S.A. FLATIRON BUILDING NEW YORK American-MadeTOYS XUM

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BOYS’ LIFE When the Unexpected is Expected (Concluded from page 14) S°: JO’S pitcher did his best to tighten. 7 One run might be overcome, but two would make it hopeless and, with none out, there Was a man on second. He struck out the next batter. But the next cracked out a clean single. Norton was two runs to the good with only an inning and a half left to play. Mason saved what was left of the sit- uation by an almost impossible catch and lightning throw for a double play. Clark went out to finish the inning with a smile ‘Go at him!” Bugs ordered, as his first batter started for the plate. ‘ Hit anything you can reach. Wallop it!” That first ball started cut the plate—but only started. Wilkinson straightened it into short E Bates went out to the box. * Look out, now,” he warned, “ It’s coming. Pitch th rst two wide.” Phelps guessed what he said. His batter let the first two go unnoticed. He hit the next. It was only an out-field fly and Wilk- inson still danced off first. Little Dick Jobson, the center fielder, had better luck. His contribution was the second insult to Clarks confidence. As Wilkinson slid into third, Dick stretched his hit into a double. With the tying runs on the bases, St. Jo’s went wild. ; Once more Bates went out to talk with Clark. Phelps watched the pair through nar- rowed lids. He saw Bates was insisting on some point; he would have given his all to have known what it was. Then Bates, eautious, fearful, worked the next batter. Bugs knew the catcher was playing the game, that Clark was only a machine and that Nor- ton was afraid to trust his mentality in a crisis. But that was all the comfort he got. The score was still 2 to 0. As St. Jo's took the field to begin the ninth Bugs felt a quiet hand on his knee. ‘“ We've one more chance,” stated the Head, “We're going to accept it, sir. Strike that man out!” he begged in an almost voiceless whisper. ‘Strike him out! “What are you going to do, Dan?” “*T don't know,” he answered frankly. “Oh! There’s one down, anyway. Good work, fel lows! What would you suggest, sir? I've made a mess of it—as usual.” * No, you haven't,” came the firm contra diction. ‘Your plan was all right!” “ Only it didn’t work, sir,” he retorted with a wry grin. “ Good catch, Mason! Good boy! That fellow sure can play. Two down now.” ( NLY by the fastest of fielding did St. Jo's get that third man. Norton romped out to close the ninth. Mason was up. As he selected a bat he looked at Phelps. ‘“* Smash the first good one,’ he ordered. As Jack Mason faced Clark he forgot every- thing but how his captain had treated him. If ever he had a chance to repay his debt it was now. He gripped his bat, saw Clark wind up, saw the ball coming and swung into it with all his strength. There was a crack, a roar from the stand. The Norton center fielder was racing back. He tried desperately to spear the ball with his bare hand. It went through. Mason, going like a whirlwind was coming into third as the hit was recovered. “Come on!” yelled Phelps. ‘*Run! Run!’ The throw was perfect, but Mason was on his feet again before it struck Bates’ glove. The score was 2 to Barry, the right fielder, was up. “ Hit it,” ordered Bugs. ‘“ Another in the same place.” Sut he died, short to first Norton drew a long breath. Clark was still steady. Mason’s home run was only a fluke. Thompson went to the bat. ‘“‘Get on some way,” Phelps tried to be very calm. Tommy’s best was a two-bagger. Phelps had seen Clark shake his head for a change of signals. “He's rattled,’ he whispered. “He’s trying to play his own game.” * Yes.” “He's vindicating your judgment. You've played this game with your head; win it that way.” “ How?” “‘Conklin’s up. He's your weakest hitter. Go to bat yourself.” “It would be too selfish, sir.” The Head laughed softly. “ Phelps batting for Conklin,” he called to the umpire, It was the first order he had ever given on the diamond and the captain turned on him in amazement. “What do you expect of me?” he asked. ‘ Resourcefulness—victory, Dan. This time you've set the stage for the unexpected. It’s your wit against Clark's.” ** You—you trust me that way? “ Yes, now.” He turned, a lump in his throat, but, as he started for the plate, St. Jo’s rose to him with a roar. To look at him, one would have taken him for the surest of pinch hitters in- stead of a boy whose world was awhirl. He pulled himself together as he faced Clark. The stands grew silent. “ Ball one!” LARK studied his new problem cautiously His head shook as he saw Bates’ signa] and, turning, he waved his left fielder further back. He was going to take no chances with a long hit when the tying run was on second, Bugs heard a_ half-smothered from the eateher behind him. ‘Play ball!” growled Bates, Phelps caught his breath. Things were better than he had’ hoped. As Clark wound up he waved his bat as if preparing to knock the cover off the ball, Clark pitched. Dan’s hands loosened their grip, his body poised, the bat came into posi- tion. There was a gentle tap. The very unexpectedness of a bunt caught the Norton infield off its balance. As the third baseman made a hopeless attempt to cut off Dan at first, Thompson slid into the unguarded bag, The crowd went mad, The tying and winning runs were on the bases and one man out, But the next moment they realized the weak end of the St. Jo’s list was up. As Bugs dusted himself at first, he saw the Head whispering to Nelson and, as Nelson came to the plate, caught the signal he flashed He was away with the pitch. Ile saw Thompson start from third, saw the short- stop rush behind Clark to intercept the throw should Tommy try to heard the pitcher’s quick yelp, then a roar of joy. Bates had held the ball. With a broad grin on his face Bugs strolled in to second base, Clark was furious. » Calling Bates to the box, they growled at each othér a moment. Phelps watched, then turned to the Head for further orders. <A confident, reassuring nod Was the only answer. It was up to him, He looked from the angry Clark to the weak-hitting Nelson, saw Lates signal to the infield to close in, understood only too well the probabilities of a-double play. Through- out the game, Nelson had failed to lift the ball beyond the infield. He would have sig naled for a squeeze play could he have counted on Nelson. With victory almost within his reach, he saw defeat closing in between, “About here’s where you finish,” comforted the Norton second baseman. “ce: te hr?” Ile looked at Clark, set sullenly in the box, saw him shake his head again for a new signal, saw him repeat the sign as Bates insisted on what he had ordered. The heart of the Norton nine was out of gear. If ever the play could work, it would work now. Once more he glanced at the Head, caught the slow nod of approval, if not of comprehension, and, as Clark won his silent debate with the catcher, started for third with a yell. exclamation score,

HE pitcher heard, turned and his jaw dropped as he looked. Bugs Phelps, head down, spikes flashing, was stealing third. (nd, two feet off the base, the amazed Thomp- son stood dumbfounded. One shrill ery of agony came from the St. Jo’s stand. For six long weeks they had waited expectantly for Bugs Phelps to do some crazy thing, but this was beyond belief. With the game in their hands, this wild ex- hibition of apparent stupidity left them numb. Clark, fascinated, watched motionless. Phelps, in a cloud of dust, slid into third. “You nut!” roared Thompson, * You've forced me!” Phelps sprang to his feet, his mouth open as if utterly bewildered. “ Throw that ball!” roared Bates. “ Throw it! Force Thompson at the plate!” Clark came out of his trance with a jerk. Without moving from the box, he threw. It was what Bugs had counted on. “ Hit it, Nelson!” he yelled. Nelson, not in the least comprehending, blindly obeyed his captain. Norton, as de- moralized as the pitcher, stood rooted to the turf. Only the shortstop kept his head. Com- ing in on the feeble hit, he speared it with one hand as Phelps sped into Thompson's dust, then threw. 3ugs heard the warning cry from the coaching lines and, again throwing caution to the winds, went headlong under the eatcher’s spikes and slid across the plate. ‘How was it?” he demanded, rolling to his feet. “Safe.” declared the amazed umpire. “Craziest play I ever saw.” ‘But it worked,” grinned Bugs. The Norton catcher wheeled and offered a grimy hand. ‘It did,’ he agreed, with a game laugh. “Congratulations! You out- generaled us,” “Oh, no! I was ordered to do the unex- pected, that’s all.” He heard a pleased laugh behind him and turned to face the Head “But this time there was thought behind the action, Dan,” he stated, “and, perhaps, what you actually accomplished was not so unexpected as you think. All right, boys,” be eried to the ava- lanche descending from the stand. ‘ Up with him. Three cheers for Phe)vs of St. Jo's!” XUM

you put 100 Old as cor Do she are al five ant bit: MI \ str sal chi scl sh Th bef the eve It | yu

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VIIM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine Hil

NLL ¢ oe IT LOOKS, MY JOKES — y LIKE ARE DRY, | 5 RAIN J

THINKS DOES HE ?} wl! Think and Grin 0.

OOK behind you, fellows! No, it’s not an L April fool trick that’s being put over on you, but it's an April fool trick that will be put over on you if you don’t look behind and look out whichever way you are facing, for Old Idle Five Minutes is on the warpath. Now, April is the month of showers as well as being the month of foolishness, and old L F. M. tries to celebrate the occasion by coming along with a shower of old jokes, Don’t be caught in the wet, boys, nor in a shower of old dry jokes, either. Good scouts are always too busy to waste any more than a minute a day, and when they see any idle five minutes coming.along, why they get busy and bust up those idle five minutes into little bits of seconds. There is an OLD IDLE FIVE MENUTES here right now. You know what to do, boys? WELL, DO IT. A Dry Answer, Scoutmaster (emphatically) : Johnny, what are you doing there in the rain? Tenderfoot: Gettin’ wet.

—— Yeh! Why is it that lightning never Teacher : strikes twice in the same place? Jimmie : Secause after it hits once, the same place isn’t there any more. More Exggsperienced City Scout: I suppose you batch all these chickens yourself? Farm Scout: Nope; we've got hens here to do that. Shell Shock. First Rooster: What's the matter with Mrs. Brahma * Second Ditto: Shell shock. Ducks came out of the eggs she was setting on. See! Camp Outfiter: I want to see some mir- rors. Storekeeper: Hand mirrors? Camp Outfitter: No; some that you can see your face in!

Of Course! Yes, sir; that’s a man-o’-war, Seascout : Land Scout: How splendid! that little one just in front? Seascout: Oh, that’s only a tug-of-war! And what is Painful! Bill: Did you get any school, Tommy ? Tommy: Yes; but they’re where they don’t show marks today at Wagegish. First Class Scout (patting his chum’s dog) : There, Johnny, is something you never saw before. Tenderfoot: What? First Class Scout: Why, your dog's tail. So It Is. Tenderfoot: What is perseverence ? First Class Scout: Ob! that is something that when you start it you don’t give up even if you haf to.

Some Tail. Tenderfoot: Gee, that dog has a long tail. It must be about three feet. Virst Class Scout: Yes; pird, that’s his back : Couldn’t See the Point. First Tenderfoot: When does two from five leave one? Second Tenderfoot: Never, it always leaves three. First Tenderfoot: Don't you be so sure about that. What about taking “s t” from “stone”?

Might As Well. Man: What are you fishing for, boy? Whales! Sut there are no whales in Boy Scout: Same Man: that small pond. Same Scout: No, nor nothing else, so I might just as well fish for whales. Then the Racket Started. First Class Scout: You use your head for a hat rack, but how could you make it hold mere than one hat? Tenderfoot: I don't know. First Class Scout: Rack your brain. Private Information. Corporal (to Rookie who is clumsily han- dling gun): I told you to take a fine sight. Don’t you know what a fine sight is? Rookie: Sure, I know what a fine sight is. A boat load of corporals sinking.

Hand Painted, First Boy (as he shows his friend over the house): See that picture there? It’s hand painted. Second Boy: Well, what about it? So's our chicken house, Not a Rubber-Neck. First Class Scout: Say, boy, don’t you know that you can’t get your kite out of that tree that way; why don’t you use your head? Tencerfoot: Because my neck is not long enough. Deep. F. C. S. (to tenderfoot): A man learns most who begins at the bottom, Tenderfoot: What about a scout learning to swim? Exactly. A man seeing a store sign stating: “We keep fresh eggs,” said to a friend: ‘“ Keep is right, for the ones he gave me were the bad ones.”

Life Saving. Drowning Man: belt. Rescuer (a tailor): Yes, sir! around the -aist? . Quick, throw me a life- What size Right. Jimmy: Dad, what does a volcano do with its lava? Dad: Jimmy: Give it up. So does the volcano. Running Still, Or Just Still, “What are you going to run? The mile or two-mile?” “T don’t know. the mile.” I’ll tell you at the end of Got Him At Last. Troop Magazine Editor: So you are the chap who invented this joke, are you? Contributor: Yes. Mag. Editor: Well, d’you know, I’ve been wondering for six years who originated it. 45 Yi My ) bo, Wy} MY) Lf) ci

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46 Week ys fora lack at A REAL Boy’s Sport! Honest now fellows! Is there anything quite so much fun as being able to hop on a speedy Shipped on Approval bicycle and go skim- W, P ming off down the e ay road? Listen! A Black Beauty is a real pal to any vigorous boy! Think of all the places you can get to in a hurry— where the fishing is best; to the swimming hole; and where the fattest berries grow. To say nothing of the way a Black Beauty will hurry-up the errands you do for mother. A Black Beauty is truly the best-of-all bi- Freight Write for Catalog cycles. Now a bike is something you don’t often buy. You want a real machine—one that has all the very latest improvements Racy looking! Dazzling nickel and colorings. Made of steel to stand wear and tear. That's the kind of a bicycle you want. That's the kind a Black Beauty is. You can get a Black Beauty without waiting and longing. Write for free catalog. Select the model you want. We ship on approval. We pay all the freight— take all the risk. After you've seen it make a small deposit, then pay $1 a week or $5 a month. The wheel 18 Exclusive Features! Including the Famous $10 Hirestane BlueNon-Skid Tires The New Departure Coaster Brake; the Diamond E. Spokes; the comfortable motor bike saddle; the Duckworth Roller Chain—and then some. Repair Kit, Tool Case and Stand Free! Don’t Delay a Minute A post card will bring you our big new catalog in colors. Each bike bears a strict 5-year guarantee, and each Black Beauty owner gets 6 months’ accident insurance free of cost d ° _. Wait till you’ve seen our factory prices before you buy equip- Sun FICS: ment for your wheel. Positively the lowest in the country. Tires, rims, lamps, saddles, horns, bells, handle-bars, pedals, supplies, etc. OUR SUNDRIES CATALOG WILL BE SENT FREE. WRITE FOR IT. HAVERFORD CYCLE CO. Dept. 154, Philadelphia, Penna. Free! Black Beauty isn’t “just a *no sir. It has Beautiful New 1920 Catalog In Colors MITTEN TTT AT BOYS’ LIFE A Just then Connie Bennett rolled over and sat up and looked out of the window. “Wass become Bridgeboro?” he said. “It just went out to get some rolls for breakfast,” I said; “it'll be right back.” “Where are we at?’ he wanted to know. “Search me,’ I told him; “all I know is I was rolling down a hill on a barrel and Charlie Chaplin was running after me. There’s the barrel out there now.’ CHAPTER FIVE AMERICA SOMEWHERE IN S soon as I mentioned Charlie Chaplin's name, Pee-Wee woke up. Charlie Chaplin is one of his favorite heroes; George Wash- ington, Napoleon, and Charlie Chaplin—and Tyler’s milk chocolate, “Where are we?’ he _ began’ shouting. “There's a lake! What’s that lake doing here?’ “The lake has got as much right here as you have,” I told him. Of course, as soon as Pee-Wee began shout- ing Wig Weigand woke up, and after the whole four of them were through stretching we had a meeting of the General Staff. I said, * Something happened in the night. The first thing for us to do is to find out where we are. We can’t go home till we know where we have to go from.” are,” Pee-Wee ‘IT don’t care where we shouted; “the first thing is to have break- fast.” ’Cracky, he’s like all the Ravens; al- ways thinking about eats, “We can’t eat breakfast till we know where we're eating it,” I told him; “ we've got to find out where we're at.” “You make me tired,” he shouted; “ will you answer me one question ?”’ “Sure, ask me an answer and I'll ques- tion you,” I said. *“ Are we in the Brewster’s Centre Railroad Station or not?’ he yelled. “Sure we are,” Westy said. ‘Then we know where we are, don't we? Pee-Wee came back, “A location is a place, isn’t it?’ “Yes. but where’s the station?” * Pee-Wee’s right,” I said; “we should worry about where the Brewster’s Centre Sta- tion is. We're on earth, aren’t we?’ “Sure we are,” Wig said. “All right,” I told him; “ we don’t where the earth is, do we?’ “It’s right here,’’ Westy said. “Yes, but where is here?” I shot back at him. * Search me,” Westy said. “Just the same if you say a place is up,” I told him; “how high is up? Suppose the lights go out, where do they go? How do we know? But anyway, we know they go out.” “Sure, that’s rhetoric,” Pee-Wee shouted. “You mean logic,” I told him. ‘“ Nobody really knows where he’s at. Even the smart- est man in the world doesn’t know where he’s at. What do we care? Just because the Earth is in the Solar System, that doesn’t say we have to tell where the Solar System is does it? We're in the Brewster’s Centre Railroad Station and the Brewster's Centre Railroad Station is somewhere in France—I mean somewhere in the Solar System. Sec- retary Hines has charge of the railroads—he should worry. Let’s get breakfast.” know E only had enough stuff to last for about one meal, so we put all our money to- gether and counted it up. We had forty-two cents, and an eraser, and a subway ticket, and a little hunk of icing from a piece of cake, and a trolley zone ticket, and two ani- mal crackers. I dumped the money an@ the hunk of icing and the two animal crackers into Connie’s hand (because he’s our troop treasurer anyway.) “Here,” I told him; “food will win the war, don’t waste it.” I made some coffee and then we fixed two of the seats facing each other and two of the fellows sat on one seat and two on the other with a piece of board between them. The stove was in the little ticket office and I just passed the tin cups out through the window, and each time I called “ one coffee ”’ and slapped it down on the counter. I guess I’ll be a fellow in Childs’ after I'm not a child any more—that’s a joke. Anyway, it was lucky we had some Uneeda crackers; we needed them enough, believe me. After breakfast, Westy said, “ There ought to be a town somewhere around here.” “Look around and see if you can see it. Maybe it ran away when it saw us coming.” He and Connie were just going to start out looking for the town, when a man came along and went up the steps of the platform in front of the store. I guess he kept the store. He had a big straw hat on and one suspender over his left shoulder. He had a little beard like a billy goat. When he got on the plat- form he stood there staring at us. Pretty soon a couple more men came and they all stood there in front of the store, staring. “T think we’re pinched,” Westy said. “IT wonder how much we can buy for forty- two cents in that store,” Pee-Wee asked. Roy Blakely’s Camp (Continued from page 17) on Wheels “ About forty-two cents worth,” I told him. “That won't keep us alive for one day,” “Are you thinking about lunch already» I asked him. “You should worry about lunch, All we have to do is to send a tele. gram to Bridgeboro and Mr. Temple will haye another freight pick us up. We can be back there by to-night. I don’t know where we are, but if we got here in one night, we can get back in one day, can’t we? Anybody that knows anything about geometry can tell that, You should worry, we won't starve.” “What'll you say in the telegram?’ ha wanted to know . “ Lost, strayed or stolen. Tag, you’re it. Come and find us. How would that do? | asked him. ‘ We'll send it in your handwrit- ing then they’ll know who it’s from.” Ory night, you should have seen that kid. He jumped up on one of the seats and began shouting, “Do you think I'm a quitter? Do you think I’m going to send and ask anybody to take me home?” “You’re a raving Rave,’ Westy began. “Do you think a raving Raven—lI'm not a raving Raven,’ Pee-Wee just yelled, he was so excited; “ you think you’re funny, don’t you? Do you think I’m a big baby?’ “Not so very big,” Connie said. Pee-Wee just stood there, yelling at us, “If you want to send word home, go ahead. You admit we’re somewhere—don’t you?” “ Shout a little louder and they'll hear you in Bridgeboro,’” Wig said; “and then we won’t have to wire them.” “Tt isn’t up to us, is it?’ Pee-Wee yelled; “ Some train or other brought us here. When they find out they made a mistake, let them take us away again. What do we care? It's none of our business. It’s up to the colonel, I mean the general or whatever you call him, of railroads. We can get along all right; we're scouts, aren’t we?” * How about school?’ Westy said. “ How are they going to get the school here, all the way from Bridgeboro?”’ Pee-Wee shouted, “That settles it,” Connie said. “Sure it settles it,” Pee-Wee shouted; “and besides, Monday is Columbus Day—and Mon- day night, too. That’s a holiday.” “There are a lot of Knights of Columbus, but there’s only one Columbus Day,” Westy shouted at him. “They'll find out where we are in three days, won’t they?’ Pee-Wee screamed, “J Say let’s stay here. J say let’s be too proud to send for help.” “ Sure, we should worry,” I said. “That’s what J say,” Connie shouted. “Scouts don’t ask for help, @o they?” Pee- Wee yelled at the top of his voice. I said, “‘ No, but believe me, scouts like to eat. I know one scout that does, anyway. What are we going to eat between now and next Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday ?” “We'll find a way,’ Pee-Wee_ shouted. “Maybe they’ll pick us up to-night, you can’t tell. Anyway, I’m not going to be a quitter. Whenever I have to do anthing I can always find a way. We can have a movie show, can’t we? We can charge ten cents. You needn’t sign my name to any telegrams.” “How can we have a movie show when there isn’t any town here?” Westy inquired. “We'll find the town,” Pee-Wee shouted; “it must be somewhere.” Connie said, ‘Oh, it’s where,” “Sure it is,” Pee-Wee hollered; “ and I’ve got that Temple Camp film in the machine. Remember about those scouts that were lost for a week in the Maine woods? We're not as bad off as they were, are we?” “Sure we’re not,” I said; “this is only the main line. Maybe its only a branch line.” “Do you mean to tell me that scouts can't get along when they’re lost on a_ branch line?” he wanted to know. “Scouts can do anything, can’t they? If I have to do some- thing, I just do it. If I can’t do it, I do it anyway. I can find a way, all right. “Bully for you! Hurrah for P. Harris!” we began shouting. “Do you think I’m going to starve?’ “Gee whiz, it never looked that way to me,” I said. “Why should we go home while we're wait- ing?” he yelled at us. “Look out, you'll fall off the seat,’’ Connie said. “We’re here because we're here, you can't deny that!” the kid fairly screeched, all the while hanging onto one of those cage things they put bundles in, so he wouldn’t fall of; “an@ I say we just stay here until they take us back in what-do-you-call-it—triumph—and put us where we belong. This is our station. No matter where it is, it’s our station. We're good at tracking. If there’s a town we'll | trail it.” f “If it’s hiding we'll find it!” I shouted; “hip, u.ip hurrah for P. Harris, scout!” (To be Continued in May Boys’ Lire) - probably some- YUM

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hat ‘ats ha end not yn’t us, aud, you we nd oD- us, sty ree ud "t lo it UM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine {LING of stars in the eastern sky, Stirring of birds in the trees, Uneasy movement where low mists lie, Wood-smoke scent on the breeze, Glimpses of khaki in forest aisles, Flashes of brown in the vales, Chirr of a blackbird where water smiles, Padding of feet on the trails. Drifting of fleecy clouds overhead, Dallying breezes that pass, Droning of bees in the clover bed, Drowsy sounds in the grass. Laughter and shouts at the river's brink, Naked bodies that gleam, Poised for an instant, then plunged to drink Delight in the clear, cool stream, Lengthening shadows out of the west, Votes of a bugle shrill, Bacon diffusing alluring zest, Tumult down from the hill! Horned owl bent on his mission dire, Winging in muffled flight, Red glowing coals of a dying fire, Burning a hole in the night. HA, there! Caught me at it, didn’t you? Figured I'd get all this spring poetry notion out of my head before you came along, but you crawled in when I was only half through, and you know there is no stopping me until I run down. Howsoever, be that as it may, I have the spring fever. I long to beat it out into the woods, to listen for the first robin with his merry “ cheer-up,”’ “ cheer-up,” to watch the muddy streams hurrying down the ravines, to poke around in the tangle of last year’s plants for signs of growing hepaticas, blood- root, and jack-in-the-pulpits, to spot some good places for over-night camps “Wowie! Camping! Oh, boy!” Why it almost seems that you like the idea. Maybe we'd better spend the time for our little chin-fest in a discussion of that subject, what say? ““You bet!” All right, then, suppose we work it this way: you fellows fire questions at me as fast as they pop into your heads and I’ll try to answer them. But of “ What’s the best kind of tent to use?” “How do you build a balsam bed?” “We haven’t a full equipment in our troop. Can’t we go camping anyway?” Whoa! Whoa! Halt! I'll try to answer your questions, but I can’t answer them all at once. Now, then, one at a time. HE best kind of a tent to use depends on a number of things—how far you are go- ing, how many of you there are in the party, how you are going to carry your stuff and how long you are going to stay. For a few months now, until vacation starts, you will be going out occasionally for an overnight hike. For a short trip of that kind nothing beats the “ pup,” especially the army kind which provides shelter for two, each fellow carrying his half and the two halves buttoning together to form the tent. But many of you will need no tents for these short trips. Troops in the small towns have little difficulty in finding some friendly farmer who will be glad to let them bunk in his hay- mow. Or if you fail in that you can build a shelter at your favorite rendezvous and use it over and over. Many of the Scout councils in the larger cities have built cabins and shel- ters for the use of over-night hikers. But for your “real” camp in the summer you will need something besides “ pups” and shelters. The Cave Scout once took a troop on a summer camp using nothing but “ pups,” and we were quite comfortable, but we would have been better off in larger tents. For the ordinary troop camp, the usual 10x12 or 12x 14 wall tents are most satisfactory. _ But with the great majority of troops it isn’t a question of picking out the best kind of tents, but of taking what they can get. A few fortunate troops have their own canvas, but the common run of us have to hustle around the neighborhood and beg, borrow or rent the tents for our summer outing. We take what we can get, are thankful therefor, and proceed to make the best of it. After all, it isn’t the fancy equipment that matters so much, but the actual act of camp- ing. And that brings me around to the ques- tion one of you fellows put awhile ago: “* We haven’t full equipment in our troop; can’t we g0 camping anyway?” Of course you can go! And furthermore, the scraping together WF A ee: Sd WTA SCOUT pe AR fT BY THE © AV © cave scoy ws Fag EJ-PRAZZ® % Vrs Cee (is yi A ———, of an outfit, and the arranging of serviceable substitutes will be real Scouting. We might as well decide on one thing right here and now, and that is that we're all going camping! Of course there will be obstacles— many of them—but if we determine right now that we will have the advantage this summer of at least a week in the open, and dig right in to bring it about, we can do it. ‘*How do you make a balsam bed?” ELL, first of all you must find yoar balsam. And after you have found it you must be certain that there can be no objections to your using its boughs for a bunk. The first bunk of this kind that the Cave Scout ever slept in was made by a mountain guide, just about snow-line on a western peak. First he cut his boughs, using only the springy tips and cutting out the heavy branches. Next he rolled two logs parallel to each other and about three feet apart. Then he began laying in the branches, starting at the head, and “* shingling” them, that is each new layer overlapping the one just laid and covering the twig ends which were placed next to the ground. With the last layer in place the blankets were spread and the bed was ready. Sut unfortunately only few of us compara- tively ever get a chance to sleep on balsam. Many of us live where balsams do not grow and many more where balsams can be found only in parks and on private grounds. But we are all interested in camping bunks. Ilere’s a stunt that is quite commonly prac- ticed by experienced campers. They take two strips of ticking, long enough and wide enough to make a comfortable tick to sleep on, and sew them together on both sides and one end, forming a bag with one end open. This bag can be folded up so as to take up very little space in the pack sack and its weight is slight. At night it can be stuffed with hay, straw, dry grass, leaves, balsam tips or any other soft material, and in the morning when the hike is resumed dumped and folded for the day. Some sleeping bags are made with a tick of this sort attached to the under side. “Mr. Cave Scout, I wish you’d tell us what you think is the one most important thing about camping.” HHAT’S easy. Absolute obedience to the Scoutmaster. You see he is responsible for the whole thing. If anything goes wrong your fathers and mothers will ask the Scout- master for an explanation. For instance, sup- pose the Scoutmaster issues orders that no scout go swimming except at the time appointed for the troop. A couple of fellows sneak off, one of them gets into deep water, is seized with a cramp and drowns. No fault of the Scoutmaster’s, and yet he will be blamed for the accident. But, aside from the possibility of accident, no camp can run smoothly unless the Scout- master’s orders are obeyed. There must be a boss to plan things, for with each fellow fol- lowing his own impulses the camp will de- generate into a rabble and nothing will be accomplished. We must agree to carry out the Scoutmaster’s orders to the letter—and agree to send home immediately any scout who wilfully disobeys. * What can we do now, Mr. Cave Scout, to get ready?” For one thing we can get busy on a camp- ing fund. There are many ways to raise money, such as entertainments, benefit movies, etc. But the Cave Scout rather favors a little real work. For instance, just now there are lawns to rake, ashes to carry out of base- ments, gardens to spade, storm windows to take off and screens to put on. Any active patrol can easily earn a camping fund in two or three weeks if they are dead in earnest. If this doesn’t appeal there is the waste paper stunt. There isn’t a small town in the country or a neighborhood in the city that will not waste enough paper between now and July 1 to send a troop of scouts to camp. Then we can take an inventory of what equipment we have on hand, after which we can figure out how much of the needed equip- ment we can supply from our own resource- fulness and how much we will have to buy. We can decide what particular scout work we will specialize on. We can make out a menu of “eats” for the entire period of camp and plan for getting the grub properly cooked. We can—but we have suggested enough to keep us on the jump for a month at least. And since we have decided that we are going to camp, LET’S GET BUSY! THE Cave Scour. Do You Belong toa Rifle Club? Every “regular” boy hopes at some time or other to own a rifle. Shooting with a small bore rifle under proper supervision and with the object Rifle Shooting is a mighty fine sport. of acquiring skill is good fun. The competitive spirit in rifle shooting brings out the best in the boy. It is a sport which develops manliness, fair play, self-reliance and muscular control, and all those things which contribute to ideal manhood. The National Rifle Association—a United States Govern=- ment organization—awards official decorations for qualifying scores in junior marksmanship. Any boy eighteen years of age, and under, can join this association individually or through a rifle club affiliated with the parent organization. By joining the “N. R. A.” you can shoot for decorations that are worth while—awarded under the direction of the National Government. emington Re a7 a - for Shooting Right The Boy Scouts of America recognize the training value of rifle shooting under proper conditions and a Merit Badge is awarded for knowledge of the proper use of a rifle and for skill in marksmanship. Remington .22 caliber rifles are famous for their accuracy. They will back up your skill and give you the scores your marksmanship deserves. ‘There is a model which will just suit you. Write us for Remington UMC literature and full information on how to shoot and how to start a rifle club in your neighborhood, In order to shoot right you must startlright. Remington UMC will show you how. Write for booklets explaining the N. R. A. Plan The Remington Arms Union Metallic Cartridge Co., Inc. Largest Manufacturers of Firearms and Ammunition in the World Woolworth Building, New York City

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Wireless! a real radio station at your home Zizz. Zizz—Zazz—Zizz, Zizz! It’s They’re calling to a warship off Fire Island. J ae ; Jack! Hear ’em! Any boy can have a wireless station right in his own home—a real wire- less, not a toy—one that will receive messages up to 1000 miles and send them 3 to 5 miles. With a No. 4007 Gilbert Receiving set you can have your station completely assembled in an hour and be listening to the messages of Government and commercial stations and many amateur stations all over the country. It’s fascinating! It’s instructive. Gilbert Radio outfits are right up to old, obsolete type that pulls out of the date the very latest and most scientific box, but the new enclesed panel type— ipparatus for transmitting, receiving, a highly sensitive instrument designed or both. They were designed by an particularly to minimize distribution expert, a wireless officer of the U. 8S capacity and eliminate dead end losses. Army during the war The loose coup- The Wireless Book in each outfit tells ler osed in the receiving sets is not the the location of the Government stations -when they send messages and how to receive them. It gives you the wireless code. And the powerful Gilbert station at New Haven send mes- sages to boys every day. Brooklyn Navy Yard! Take the receiver,

Write today for our special Radio Catalog and name of the dealer who aeclis these outfita in your cilu, Write your name and address plainiy, The A. C. Gilbert Company 315 Blatchley Ave., New Haven, Conn. In Canada: The A. C. Gilbert-Menzics Co., Lim- ited, Toronto. In England: The A. C. Gilbert Co., Holborn, W. C. 1. dligh

Style s—Boys from 8 to 1g Style B— (Belt) Sor little brothers Whatever Dad does is O. K. with boys. They feel instinctively that what daddy wears is 4// Right! Mothers, dress your boys the man/y way in ev4ele) REG .U.S. PAT. OFF. J 1 Sig port for Pants and Hose AGES 44018 You'll not only help them toward a more manly attitude and freer unrestricted bodily movement, but you'll save washing, ironing and mending, At Boys’ Clothing, Furnishing and Notion Departments; or write us. $1.00 and $1.25

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BOYS’ LIFE

Dom Gonzalo’s Cross (Concluded from page 19) that he hand it over with the that Don Gonzalo’s eyes flashed demanded rings. <At fire. “*“Never!’ he cried, ‘This cross. be- longed to my father. It is a holy relic, passed down through generations. All through his life it protected him in many a danger. I promised him as he lay dying that I should never part with it. He told me that it would bring me fortune, and from the day he gave it to me I have done nothing but prosper. To get it you will have to take my life. But I warn you that it will be no lucky charm for you; it will be a curse upon you. You will live to regret the day that you ever touched it, for this sacred thing was never meant to bring good fortune to a thief.’ “But Squint-eyes wasn’t feeling super- stitious just then, and he wasn't the kind that had any reverence for sacred things, or for anything else. He made a grab for the cross, and tore it from its chain. “Don Gonzalo, with a cry, sprang at him like a wildcat. The two struggled to- gether, backward and forward, until they came to the fire, which some of our team- sters had started. At that moment the Don managed to wrench the away from Squint-eyes, and instantly he tossed it into the center of the fire. For several minutes they kept up their struggle, until Squint- eyes broke away, and made a rush to save the cross. He succeeded in kicking it out of the coals, but it was red hot and he didn’t dare touch it. cross ‘é HE Don stooped, and picked it up. It must have burned through his flesh to the bone, but he didn’t seem to feel the pain. As he held it Squint-eyes grabbed him again, ‘““*Take it if you must!’ cried the Don, and he pressed the glowing cross into Squint-eyes’ open hand, “Squint-eyes yelled like an Indian. The was sizzling in his palm, burning clear through the flesh. And Don Gonzalo held it there, heedless of what he-must be suffering himself. ‘*Take it!’ he curse on you!’ “At last Squint-eyes tore himself away, weak and half fainting from the pain. He raised his gun, and fired. Don Gonzalo— may his soul rest in peace, for a better man never lived—fell dead before the fire. “If I hadn't been so weak and dizzy my- self from my wound I am sure I should have madearushat Squint-eyes,even though he did have a gun and mine had been taken away from me. He wouldn't have had time to reload, though he might have clubbed me with it, and I'd have been glad of the chance of grappling with him. I felt like getting my hands on his throat and chok- ing the wicked life out of him, and I was strong enough to have done it, even though I was only a boy. But I had lost a lot of blood and was pretty helpless. I grew so faint that I couldn't keep on my feet, and I slumped down beside a wagon wheel and lay there, watching Squint-eyes. He came up close to where I lay, but didn’t take the least notice of me. In fact, I don't believe he even saw me, for he was too much occupied in nursing his burned hand. Now and then he would give a groan as he nursed the hand by holding it under his armpit. “Once he held the hand up before his face to study it. and it was then that I saw what had happened to him. The cross had been held in his hand in such a way that the upper point of it was outside his palm and hadn’t touched him. The part that had touched him had burned a perfect letter T clear through the flesh—a brand that would cross cried ‘Let it be a Not im the (Concluded \ HEN your Ma _ returned I learned saloon was the French word for pic- ture gallery and that my society stock had gone down like an aviator in a nose dive. About a year later Old Man Benson busted trying to flood the retailers with bronze kid boots and it was a real honest- to-goodness failure. The old man was wiped out and Percy came home from Paris. One morning I was over at the Benson's factory along with a bunch of other credi- tors. No one there had much love for Percy, but we all realized that it was up to Percy to go to work so, as gently as I could, I suggested he paint the inside of my factory at $25 per. I was pretty sure it was more than he was worth, but I felt sorry for the old man. Did he take it? He did not. He gave me one scornful glance and strode out of the room with the air of an insulted king.

never come out. And I realized that Don Gonzalo’s curse had come true.” ing steadily at Gower, who for an in- stant turned a frightened face toward him. “T’m not going to bother much to explain how a squad of troopers from Fort Dodge happened along in time to save me and the few that still lived from being murdered and how Squint-eyes and his gang had to eet away in a hurry, leaving most of their loot behind. In fact, I've only got one more thing to tell that would be of much interest to you men—and that is that if anybody cares to look inside ‘Squinty’ Gower's right hand he'll find the brand of Don Gon- zalo's Gower staggered to his feet. “It's a lie!” he cried, but he held his right hand tightly closed. Two men seized him, while a third pried the hand wide open, and held it high in the light of the fire for all to see. The Q UANTRELL paused for a moment, star- cross.” letter T—the curse wrought by Don Gon- zalo—gleamed white as snow in the glow of the flames. “He's the man _ that robbed me! screamed Uncle Ezra Bellamy. ‘** Let me get at him! I'll bet he’s got my watch and money belt on him right now.” The next moment proved that Uncle Ezra was right, for the money belt, with the gold still inside it, and the watch were pro- duced by eager, searching hands as_ they went through Squint-eyes’ clothes, “We ought to string this man up,” Jim Coulter shouted. ‘* There’s no law out here, and we can do as we please with him. If we hang him to the nearest cottonwood it'll be a good lesson for any other thief we may have among us.” at Quantrell intervened sharply. “We've got no right to hang a man for stealing. But he can't travel with us any more. He's got to shift for himself. We'll turn him loose on the plains with a week's rations. When that’s gone he can scare up food for himself with his gun.” A slow, meaning smile spread over Quantrell’s face. ‘“ That is, he can if he's alive by that time,’ he added. Not for a moment did Quantrell intend that Squint-eyes should be alive by that time. Only three days had passed since a drunken teamster in the party had shot an Indian for stealing tobacco, and Quantrell well knew that every savage within two hundred miles of them was boiling to get even. The Indians were too weak to at- tack such a big caravan. But Squint-eyes, all alone on the plains—well, that would be different. Irom the top of the high ridge that rose just to the west of the creekbed a group of men and a boy stood gazing off across a vast stretch of rolling country. Three miles away to the East a_ solitary horseman, a mere speck on the _ brown plains, was slowly being swallowed up in the distance. Suddenly from close beside him a small party of Indians came inte view, riding at a _ gallop. They were in pursuit of “ Squinty ” Gower. A fierce light played in Quantrell’s eyes. He’was thinking of what had happened to his friend, Don Gonzalo Hernandez. “It would have been kinder to ‘ Squinty’ if we had strung him up,” said Jim Coulter. The Indians were closing in on Gower, and Tuck Simms gave a shudder as he thought of the tortures that were in store for the man. “He just opened his hand,” Tuck mut- tered,—“‘ just opened his hand a_ second while I was watching him. Such a little thing to do, yet it’s going to be the death of him. Gee! Just because he opened his hand!” Curriculum from page 20) Did he go to work? Not much! He married a waitress at the Dairy Lunch who ought to have known better and today she is working in the stitching room at Fair Bros, while Perey spends his days coloring photographs for about ten a week and his nights preach- ing revolution at radical meetings. Forget the artist stuff. Ted, and take a second helping of the education they pass around so liberally at Exeter, it can’t hurt you any and who knows but it may do you some good and, by the way, if you can spare the time from your studies, and I guess you can if yeu try real hard, why not play a little football? Your Ma says she’s afraid you'll have your brains knocked out but I tell her not to worry over the impossible. Your affectionate father, WILLIAM SOULE.

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The Boy Sceuts’ Magazine 49

— . | What Wizardy IsIn- Ask Your Big Brother || | ete | y his aluminum mess kit and can- r hov (Concluded from page 5) teen stood the racket of long hikes

and cooking in the trenches. EST Here is a compact, convenient ; ooking and eating outfit made from the deer have “ yarded”’ and managed to live ee through the winter on this sort of forage. s Z n. 5 the same hard, thick sheet aluminut And on the hardwood ridge near by, from the Durable and practical— it will stand scars on the young beech and maple saplings the hardest knocks of camp and out- where the bark is stripped off, we may learn door life. that here the bucks scraped the velvet from their horns—and polished them against the 66 99 time when they must fight with their antlered ear- ver brothers for some mild-eyed doe. On this big hemlock are other scars not Boy Scout Outfit made by the deer, for they are too high up consists of six pieces packed in a khaki and an examination of them reveals the fact case With adjustable strap, Almost as that here old Bruin sharpened his claws, and light as a canteen. You will hardly no the height of the scratches from the ground tice its weight when slung across your gives us a pretty good idea of the size of the shoulder, bear as he stood on his hind legs and made Consult Boy Scout Supply Depart- these gashes in the bark. ment, or your Sporting Goods The trees tell a good many other stories. Howse—or write ue today. Here is a decayed stub on which the The Aluminum Cooking Utensil Co. woodpeckers have spent much time in their Dept. 32 New Kensington, Pa. quest of food, boring into it here and there; In Canada ‘‘Wear-Ever’’ utensils are made by Northern and if we look sharply enough we may find Aluminum Company, Limited, Toronto, Ontario, Canada acorns or other nuts inserted in these ori- fices. Many of the woodpeckers stay North all winter and either they or the jays prob- ably thus store these nuts, either for the meat in them or the worms which are pretty sure to get into them; so that when every- thing is frozen up tight and food is scarce they may, through their own foresight, still find something to eat. The practiced eye learns to look for old blazes on the trees, marking ancient trails or trapper’s lines or property limits. The original edges of the blazes may have grown together so that only a slit or line remains; but we may tell ap- SCOUTS’ BEST COMPANION proximately how long ago they were made by i ‘ the same spot and ° eutting a fresh blaze on Pocket Knife counting the annual rings on the new growth.

ark All Wool SUITS for Boys LEATHER INSIDE JS TYLE OUTSIDE

Tool Kit HE old logs in a primeval forest are one apaesend of the most picturesque features, beautiful f ? Price $2.50 with moss and lichens and symbolic of na- OES this sound familiar—“ Be careful of your clothes (Complete — delivered ture’s methods of returning into her store- son?” 9 1 house the things that have survived their : ° in original usefulness. To stand on the pros- Each tool firmly attached | trate body of one of these sylvan kings, per- You were having a beautiful scrap and just getting Bill’s other oe to knife in | chance to feel our feet sinking into what was shoulder to the floor when you heard that call—and again you re : once his stout and solid heart, and to realize ee are at ‘ eo 4 Fools large enough for | how long ere we were born he was thus laid felt that “ somebody’s always taking the joy out of life. canny out in state, is enough to set one thinking on POCKETBOOK NIFE — the changes that have come about since this

It wouldn’t have happened if you had been wearing a Jack

KNI ; REAMER mouldering trunk stood upon the mountain. O’Leather Suit, lined with real leather at the hard- -wear points— FILE While winter is the most favorable time _ siete - a for discovering what has been going on in seat, knees, elbows and pockets. CHISE he w s. whe » telltale tracks i 2 ’ Fs : SCREW-DRIVER SF aah Gee cede ee ee ee In a Jack O’Leather Suit you can romp and play—but it comes Sarena cas rain of the animals and birds, nevertheless, there up smiling. Jack O’Leather stands a good “ rough-house,” yet it is % actual size ‘A Ha dy Practical are plenty of interesting signs to be found -c oF she , ave > 66 cca. ” ’ . Weight 7 ounces "Teese in the damp, forest earth, or along’ the looks good when —_ have to be “ dressed up. Made of Finest Tempered Steel sandy shores of brooks and ponds. In the STRONG, DURABLE, SERVICEABLE dry and sunny spots along the trail we may Always at hand for immediate use. } detect where the grouse have been dusting | Chas. Black, 5 Beekman St., N. Y. C. | themselves, making tiny wallows with their wings as they flirted the fine earth through their feathers. In the soft mud of the lake- side is the plantigrade imprint of the raccoon USAT L M FE” The Airplaine — negp ie ey se of the open ot | who has been frog-hunting, or perchance, has that FLIES! ‘ome down to the water to practice his singular habit of washing his food before eating it. Here are the deep, clean-cut tracks of the deer, and a study of them will demonstrate whether their makers were walking steadily along, casually feeding, or on the run. The woods-wise man could even tell you the gender of the animal from the shape of the tracks—those of the does being more pointed than those of the bucks. These round tracks, set one ahead of the other, mark the wanderings of the fox as he foraged the night before, while the twin tracks near by indicate the path of the squir-

“SAIL ME”’ will loop-the-loop, rel as he raced from one tree to another, The Half of the wear and most of the strain on boys’ clothes is on the glide, spiral, pan cake—in fact, do sharp-rayed foot print of the grouse is “-~ inside, you know; but in a Jack O’Leather Suit the soft, pliable, strong all the stunts of a real airplane. pi. pen = pes. — — a leather catches the inside wear and strain and keeps the suit from stretch- age oO 4 ars ay > See -] é cs ‘ Every boy and girl in your neighbor- tha bine lieben. the mikes, Gs the waned ing out of shape and growing shabby. And the pockets are safe banks hood will envy you, if you have “ SAIL, imprint of ducks, interspersed perhaps with for your treasures, without fear of loss. Holes just don’t grow in leather stunts of today. the tracks of mink and muskrats. lined pockets. Just think of the fun! And we And so we come to the forest camp not The price? The same as any other well-built, all-wool suit—yet a give you 2 airplanes FOR ONLY only for change and relaxation; not merely Jack O’Leather suit lasts twice as long “<"~ ae —— to capture game and fish, but also to en- 8. bead stance, cease eaner oneee, large our capacity for enjoyment in other There’s one dealer in your town who sells Jack O’Leather suits. Look ways—to learn woodcraft and the fine art him up, and feel] the leather. 2 MARQUETTE VARIETY CO. 552 East 67th St. Chicago, I. of camping comfortably; to study tree and plant life and to understand their various qualities and uses; to know the ways of the wild creatures, solving their problems of existence and interpreting their actions . Bovs, Build this Cr. This : : ; 35 Miles car driven by gasoline ee Ag and motives; to acquire an instinct for per hour built by any boy. Parts are furnished foretelling the weather and to discriminate . Soe tor building Tae ae; Send between the false and the true sayings is record price | concerning it; to learn directions and com- of this Car.

The Diagrams Tell the Story “Leatherized” where the wear comes with a lining of soft, pliable, real leather at seat, knees, elbows and pockets. J.J. PREIS & CO. 636-638 Broadway New York City

al ae ee ee _ = pass points from the clues which the wild- erness holds, and to follow blind trails or make new ones accurately. And _ finally— and best of all—to learn and to practice the code of camp-fellowship, whereby men, thrown upon each others society and re- sources, may become better- friends, more SYPHER MFG. CO considerate and unselfish, more ready to 22 Warren Street _ share in the duties as well as the delights "TOLEDO, CHIO of such comradeship.

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BOYS’ LIFE

JimMorse—Advene turer (Continued from page 27) We want no mollycoddles!

at The Dan Beard Woodcraft Camp and Outdoor chool SUDDENLY Jim gave an exclamation and WW stepped into the water, stooping and grop- ing for a yellow fleck that had caught his eye. He secured it and brought it up in the palm of his hand, a thin flake .of great weight, a water-beaten wafer of pure gold! “This is the stream, skipper,” he called as the captain came towards him. ‘There are wads more. See them glittering?” surr joined him, the pair wading gradually deeper, peering for the tell-tale colors, bend- ing double and collecting them until each had \ a respectable palmful. Soth were flushed \ with excitement as they compared their finds. * Reg'lar Tom Tiddler’s Ground,” said the skipper. “It’s a mint, Jim. Blamed if*the stuff ain't got a grip on me. Steady on, lad, we got all the time in the world to go at this. Let's git out an’ talk it over." Jim’s blood was pounding through his veins in a strange excitation. He noticed a gleam die slowly in the skipper’s eye and knew there had been one in his own. He saw the _ skipper’s face grow grave and brought himself under control from the fever- ish desire to grope and grope for the shining pebbles that held so weird a magnetism. “ Git’s ye, don’t it?” said the skipper when they had waded out and soberly put down their findings on a rock. ‘ Devil's own stuff that. Devil's grain, some call it. Dern me if I wasn’t afraid someone else ‘ud come erlong before I could git my share of it, an’ if they had I'd have chased ’em off with my gun. Gits inter the blood. Useful, of course, but blame me if I don’t understand how a man can become a miser—an’ even a mur- derer—for the stuff. Phew!” He wiped his streaming forehead. “Talk about’ black magic,” he went on, “that’s yellow magic. Tech the stuff an’ something sticks to ye. I'm plumb ashamed of grubbin’ like that.” “Tt all depends upon the use you make of it, sir,’ said Jim. ‘*So you said.” “Yep. Easy to philosophize when you're jest talkin’ erbout it. Thar’s one use to put it to, Jim. If we git the gal. To eddicate her an’ provide for her right. -But the stuff gits ye like strong licker!”

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HEY sat in silence for a few minutes. ' Jim was conscious that he was out of } breath, still panting with fierce desire. “Did you notice, captain,” he said pres- ently, “‘ that the nuggets got bigger towards the middle of the pool? There’s a deep place out there. I imagine there are a lot of big chunks at the bottom of it. The heaviest would lodge there.” The skipper glanced up to the water fall, “If we could block that, or turn it some way,” he said meditatively, “ we might git at it easy. Notice, Jim, thar’s less water, by a heap, flowin’ out of the pool than tumbles inter it? Thar’s a crack down thar’ in the bottom of that pool that lets out a lot of the water. Gold ‘ud go that way too, but thar should be ledges. Providence ain’t led us to this for nuthin’, son. The gold’s thar an’ it’s up to us to use it right if we can git at it. That'll take some figerin’ out. Wal’ we better be gittin’ back to camp.” Jim had never seen the skipper in so houghtful and grave : od. = §Di 7, he The IMPROVED MARTIN cael ‘acane ae “sae PA onisy He.

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REAL RED-BLOODED AMERICANS Intensive training for

a A Ge 1

too, felt ashamed of the way he had scrambled 7 me ; r, r AUTOMATIC FISH REEL for the gold, led by something that controlled winning merit badges him, instinct rather than actual thought. As they came out of the ravine they saw . " e; ry, and the now completed camp and a_e group . — . Every boy wants to be a suc part'm our own facto y of men parleying with Billi by the gate. Sign up now, join with the cessful fisherman. Whether guarantee each reel. With a thrill Jim saw his first pygmies. fi l yr wee P ‘ ‘ ; ‘ "8 inest lot o ellows you fish in a small stream or It will pay you to buy a Men short of stature, their bushy heads, the i : hair tied into a myriad little strings, barely go for the big fellows your MARTIN AUTOMATIC por Mag eat _ sills ar Gan: ban IN THE WORLD } success will depend on your now. It will last for years legged, bloated of stemach, black of skin - : : ; rhich was tattooed so heavily on their ba- equipment and will cost you less in the be Pasig ‘ P . P boon-like faces that:the flesh looked blue , Your first need is a good long run than several cheap with the stain: clad oaly te a strip of bark- under the direction of the rod with a strong reliable reels would. Show this ad- cloth, pebeering ube apes. oon —— “MOST FAMOUS SCOUT” . spears, others ubes oO yamboo tha Jim reel. The MARTIN AUTO- vertisement to Dad and ask |; “new must be the blow-pipes that puffed MATIC is built on the him if this is not good | the fatal darts. Billi gave a shout at sight : a : of the skipper and the dwarfs became sud- Learn to a flap-jack swrengen lines of ay oe advice. se | denly silent, watching the two whites with . t flap PJ metic reel. It is compact A circular describing each alert, rolling, bloodshot eyes that were Learn to swim a mile w ogether. Noth-_ style of reel in detail will strangely flat and shallow, that quivered con- i and . ell put tages ‘ . y P tinually, like floating compass cards. Learn to ford a stream ing is loose or shaky in its be sent to you free. Write (To be continued in May BOYS’ LIFE.) construction. We buildevery for it : Learn woodcraft, campcraft, ; A FE Cc _ 4 naturecraft and best of all ky vale is stock write us n Error Correcte ' Ask your dealer. If he is out of stock write us : Seow to he a veel Amasicen, 7 a Trusting to information received through = No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 a press clipping, we made a statement in the pathfinder, Pioneer and Prices: $4.50 $4.75 $5.00 $5.25 January BOYS’ LIFE which has since been Eagle Scout challenged and which we are now glad to amend. It seems it was Troop 12 of Hart- ford and not a Springfield troop which car- Write for our beautiful little book- Martin Automatic Fishing Reel Co. ried off the honors in first aid in the inter- let to the Chief, Dan Beard Outdoor cities. Apologies, Hartford, for the inad- stekig a Mohawk, N. Y. vertent injustice and congratulations to both School, Bowne Avenue, Flushing, New York.

cities, whose troops are evidently close to the top in first aid work. There is glory enough for all.

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IFE The Boy Scouts’ Magazine . “BOYS—LET MIKE GIBBONS TRAIN YOU” Let him build up your body and brain. His course in “Scientific Boxing and Physicial Training” will keep you interested from the start. It will teach you a real man’s a and at the\same time improve your health and in- crease your strength. en eT CARL J. ROTHFUSS, G. G. For 14 years physical director, St. Paul Y. M. C. A. and director St. Paul municipal playgrounds for eight years.

tT HNN TMT

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———__ The Lights of Home

(Concluded from page 38)

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A silence fell, while Mrs. Trimble, her sons, the maids and the cook strained their ears to listen. “T heard it from yourself, Pete,” the clown answered, “down in the circus field when. you were a kid.” For a long moment Mr. Trimble studied the painted face that was grinning into his. Impulsively he grasped the clown’s hand, “T’m glad you've come, Tom Labaree.”

A MOVIE CAMERA GIVEN

The above engraving is an exact reproduction of'a photograph of the Movette Motion Picture Camera, which we are offering absolutely without cost to you In conjunction with the Camera, we are giving, (also free of charge), 2 separate projector, for showing the exposed reels. This is a complete outfit for taking and vrojecting real motion pictures. With this equipment you can faithfully reproduce on the screen in your own home or club, the school team, in action, your Scout Troop on hike, the fast mail thundering by, aeroplanes droning overhead, your canoe trip; living action pictures of anything and everything

FEW hours later he and Tom Labaree were sitting on the Trimble porch, “Funny how fate works,” Mr. Trimble ob- served, “TI suppose if I hadn’t caught sight of the light in my home as we rode up this hill that night I’d have stuck to the wagon, as you did, and been with a circus the rest Every Boy Can and Should be an Expert Boxer Boxing is becoming more popular every day as the proper sport for improving the strength, brain, charac-

thst mover Peden ecards Of evecytay Oe Snes’ of my life. Too bad you di@n’t turn back, ter and courage of the manhood of America. Read the enganization. too, Tom. letter which is shown here from Secretary of War Writeto-day, asking for particulars about the Movetteand T “*T wish I had,” said Tom Labaree, Please state whether you desire Baker, stating that my course has been adopted by the

how you may own one, 4 a 7 *Many’s the ti » she I ras lugging the Movette for ee eee yg ye opt Iffor 4 7 ys 1€ “ig Ww = ne was plugging W t f t ie | ° RENE: See ee eaad aaa ok, away trying to get my business on its feet, Var Department, for training the American Arm THE MANHATTAN MERCANTILE CO. that I wished you had stayed in Millville. Pp ? & Army. Dept, C, 45 St, Nicholas Place, New York City

You all know that America is no place for mollycoddles. Every American boy should be healthy, clear eyed and a quick thinker. My course in Scientific Boxing will give YOU these qualities. I will teach you boxing and all the corrective exercises right in your own home. No “ifs” or “ands” about it. I have hundreds of let- ters to prove this. All the Secrets of My Boxing Career

I'll give you a good start if you'll accept my offer of a job.” “T'm going to accept it,” said Tom, look- ing down dreamily into the hollows in the hills where Millville lay. yoy a ———— stamped addressed envelope is enclosed, “Mike Gibbons is the master boxer of them all. —WasuincTon HERALD yc : o $2.00 a pairfor “ 5. The Art Editor of BOYS’ LIFE will act Mike Gibbons is my idea of all that is mighty in the boxing game. He has more inherent W efurnish v- as judge of the photographs submitted. 6. A prize of $5.00 will be awarded to the picture or group of pictures from one contest- ant judged the best and a dollar will be paid for every other photograph accepted and pub- lished, Photographs accepted and published _ be- come the property of BOYS’ LIFE. and Express Charges. largest and finest guaranteed high grade stock and buy all you raise. si Free Illustrated Booklet and Contract. UNITED FOOD & FUR ASSOCIATION 329 W.48th St. Dept.7 New York ATTENTION, BOYS! If you want to make good money go into the Belgian Hare business. We can furnish you thoroughbred nuit " a0 cciaiaiaiaadiniaiatddiai ataiitaaia Belgian Hares for $10 per pair or one buck and two does for $13. Mercer Rabbitry, Mercersburg, Pa., Jack McLaughlin and Bro., Props. skill and native craftiness than any other fighter in the world. ‘ Jack Britton, | World’s Welterweight Champion Your courseon “Scientific Being and Physical Training” certainly covers everything from Ato Z in boxing and training. I know the boxers under my management, though they are not novices in the game, can learn a' lot from your course. Every well-informed boxing fol- lower knows that there is not anyone in the world who knows as much _ about scientific boxing a you. Harry Lennon, Manager of Boxers, St. Paul, Minn. Mike Gibbons could whip almost any oppon- ent without striking a blow, This assertion is made after seeing his marvelous exhibition of feinting, blocking, ducking and side-stepping. New York Wortp

nung eeeereeenneneniaeny wn, Short Story Contest Rules HH

& At eet thongs: the == of learning boxin 5 ial Seo y mail, seemed like a joke to me but NOW 1. For the best story, essay 01 article on have been convinced that it can be done. The ? ¢ ? one of the following subjects: Scouting, Na- clear manner in which you explain the differ- eee ture, Camping, Athletics or School, submit- ent blows and defensive moves, coupled with ted by a reader of BOYS’ LIFE each month, the illustrations depicting them, makes it pos- a prize of $5.00 will be given. on lh anybody to learn the principles of gp gi sper Bs Ors? - : scientific boxing. A T'T Bie PEW sas cde uae haan nd, eS cen ve : ol age may compete, Assistant County Attorney, 3. Stories, essays or articles must be not St. Paul, Minn. , Q Be os over 1500 words in length. VW e give large commissions 4. Manuscripts must be typewritten, or Le to subscription agents written legibly in ink on one side of the ¢ a? . paper only, and folded, not rolled. Any al f manuscript difficult to decipher will be o Gibbons Athletic Association 3y devoting a few of your spare thrown out of the contest. “ a0 Detwepetoen, Teeter Sains ' F OP. 1 air Re 5. The name and address and age of the ited noments to the plan, you can ’ if : ; a : J author and, if a scout, his troop number, . P Mr. Gibbons: earn enough to pay your camp- should appear in the upper right-hand corner Here is one of the on Pd Please send me, without any obligation on my ing expenses for the summer. of the first page of manuscript. ol, Semone ri pert. ele Seats ae Siletiees Sang Sale eapenee 6. With every manuscript a stamped nd teach you how and : y posed photographs. ini a sail self-addressed envelope for its return should when to use this punch. oe rite us for particutars be enclosed. Only manuscripts thus accom- Better mail that cou- ~ r ; panied will be returned, pon now. eeemeaees roe 7. Manuscripts must reach us by the tenth 4 BOYS LIFE of the second mo.th preceding the date of { Pe — (a . : : _ : issue; that is, a story for the June contest { 200 Fifth Ave. New York City should reach us before April 10. { _ 8. The Editors of BOYS’ LIFE wil! act as t a oO judges of the manuscripts submitted. .

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The Johnson Twin will take you where you want to go when you want to go THE JOHNSON Motor WHEEL The only two-cylinder motor in the world to pusha bicycle Make your bicycle into a two-cylinder Motor Bike by replacing the rear bicycle wheel with a twin- cylinder Johnson Motor Wheel. Consists of flat twin-cylinder motor, extra strong 26-in. wheel, two-inch motor fabric clincher tire, patented shock absorb- ing driving sprocket, magneto and electric light generator. JOHNSON MOTOR WHEEL CO. 910 EAST SAMPLE STREET SOUTH BEND, INDIANA Travel 150 miles on a gallon of gasoline Speed 6 to 35 miles 60 miles an hour for 10 cents 4 > $97.50. Johnson Motor Bike, $140, F. 0. B. Johnson Motor Wheel, No young man is correctly dressed unless tne foundation is right. An indisvensable accessory to good dress is the Boston Garter Vieretouik It means luxury and efficiency. This Quality Garter gives a feeling of satisfactoin as well as freedom of action and is always secure. which means real leg comfort and long wear. Insist on having the “ Boston.” George Frost Company, Boston Makers of Velvet Grip Hose Supporters for Boys and Girls The Cave of the Golden Dragons (Continued from page 25) riveted his attention. On a narrow bracket fastened to the panel- ing there stood a small, grotesque figure of a Fu dog done in golden bronze. It was not more than four inches high and, though a tine piece of work, was not, in itself, an object of great rarity. And yet, he studied it, something in Larry’s memory faintly stirred. as Where had he seen that particular arrange ment of dog and bracket before? For a mo- ment or two he racked his brain and then, the answer came suddenly. “Jim!” he said in a low, excited voice. “Look at the Fu dog on the bracket there. Don’t you remember that room in the Nan- vung temple with paneling like this that they said was over a thousand years old? There was a.carved bracket on the wall and on it just such a bronze dog. You pushed the dog a few inches to the right end . ‘*A hidden door, in the paneling opened!” gasped the boy. ‘*‘Great guns, Larry! You don't think that—” “Haven't the least idea. I do know this, though. When the Chinese get hold of a good idea they don't often waste time doping out something better, but make another like it. Anyhow, it’s worth looking into. How are your teeth, Kid? Pretty strong?” McLean stared. “Teeth?” he repeated blankly. “ What the dickens—ob, I see.” | per already Larry had slid off the couch and was progressing around the end by rapid revolutions of his lithe body. * You'll have to come down from there,” he said in a low tone. “ Don’t make any more noise than you can help. I've an idea they've left a guard outside the door. Try my hands first, I haven't pulled to test the rope; it only tightens up the knots.” He lay on the floor with his back the light, and Jim, squirming over to him, took a good look at the knots and then tackled them with his teeth. The job was not as hard as he had expected; in five minutes toward Larry’s hands were loose and in even less time he had freed his legs, untied McLean's bonds and sprang to his feet. With Jim close beside him, he _ hastily crossed the room and, seizing the Fu dog, tried to push it to the right. It did not stir, and for a moment his heart sank before he thought of shoving it the other way. This time he was more successful. The bronze figure slid over easily; there came a muffled click, and instantly a section of the paneling about two feet wide swung out. The opening revealed a dark, narrow pas- sage, not particularly alluring. But Larry paused only long enough to see that the catch could be worked from behind, before thrusting Jim into it, closing the door after them and taking the lead, then moving swiftly forward through the darkness, his outstretched hands touching the walls eit er The passage turned twice stubbed his against the flight of He started up thrill of hope, but at the end of the seven- teenth step the passage resumed its inter- minable way again. There was another sharp on side. before Larry bottom of a them with a toes steps. turn and then abruptly they came to a wide opening on the right, where, after a momen- tary hesitation, Larry lighted a match, B* its flickering flame he saw that stood at the entrance of a fairly deep the further side of which was made of metal, curiously curved and hollowed. To the left was a small door fitted with a simple eatch., Directly in the middle of the space a long, heavy lever of bronze rose from a nar- row slot in the wooden floor. This much Larry took in before the match burned out. An instant later a low, startled whisper came from Jim, who had remained in the passage to keep watch. ** Someone's they recess, coming!” Larry gained the entrance with a bound. Approaching along the passage in the opposite direction from which they had come, moved a lighted lantern. Its rays fell upon a pair of legs swathed in loose Chinese trousers and terminating in felt-soled Larry caught the boy’s arm and dragged him inte a corner of the recess, ‘*There’s just a chance he may pass by,” he breathed, “If he does, he won’t see us. If not i Under his fingers the boy’s muscles tensed suddenly and he knew that Jim understood. Crouching in the corner they waited breath- lessly until the light began to flicker in the passage. Brighter it grew and brighter still. Then all at once it ceased to move, and there shoes. was a little click of metal on stone as if the bearer had set it down. A moment later the figure of a Chinaman loomed up in the entrance, Motionless in the corner, lithe body bent slightly forward, Larry crouched ready for the spring. But the man did not pause. With the air of one perfectly at home even BOYS’ LIFE e Learn Drafting Employers everywhere are looking for skilled draftsmen. They are offering good salaries to start with splendid chances for advancement. Drafting offers exceptional opportunities to a young man because drafting itself not only com- mands good pay, but it is the first step toward success in Mechanical or Structural Engineering or Architecture. And drafting is just the kind of work a boy likes to do. There is an easy delightful way in which you can learn right at home in spare time. For28 years the International Correspond- ence Schools have been giving boys just the train- ing they need for success in Drafting and more than 200 other subjects. Thousands of boys have stepped into good positions through I. C.S. help, but never were opportunities so great as now. Let the I. C. S. help you. Choose the work you like best in the coupon, then mark and mail it. This doesn’t obligate you in the least and will bring you information that may start you on a success- ful career. This is your chance. Don’t let it slip bv. Mork and mail this coupon now. ——— sem emspem TFAR OUT Foo —— = —— BOX'8575-BSCRANTON, PA. Explain, without obligating me, how I can qualify for the position, or in the subject, before which I mark X. ELEOTRIOAL ENGINEER SALESMANSHIP Electric Lighting and Kys. ADVERTISING Electric Wiring Window Trimmer Telegraph Engineer Show Card Writer Telephone Work Sign Painter MEONANIOAL ENGINEER Railroad Trainman ILLUSTRATING Cartooning BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Private Secretary BOOKKEEPER Stenographer and Typist Cert. Pub. Accountant TRAFFIC MANAGER Railway Accountant Commercial Law Oo ENGLISH Teacher Common School Subjects Mathematics CIVIL SERVICE Railway Mail Clerk AUTOMOBILE OPERATING Auto Repairing Spanish AGRICULTURE Freneb C) Poultry Ralsing Italian Mechanical Draftsman Machine Shop Practice Toolmaker Gas Engine Operating CIVIL ENGINEER nd Mapping OREMAN or ENGR STATIONARY ENGINEER Marine Engineer Ship Draftsman ARCHITECT Contractor and Ralilder Architectural Drafteman Concrete Builder Structural Engineer PLUMBING AND HEATING Sheet Metal Worker Textile Overseer or Supt. OHEMIST Navigation Name. Present Occupation. Street and No. 7-26-98 State. ON’T staybackin ? | yy o e regular fel- lows. Join the Drum or Bugle Corps. Either instrument is easy to play. Any boy can learn. Reg. Artillery Bugies Not a toy, regular model en- dorsed by U.S. Army Buglers and Boy Scouts. Made in key of G and F. Full, even tone. Highly Polished Brass finish. 00 4 Price. Bugle Corps Drum Special for Bey Organiza y tions. Size 10 14 inches. Wonderful volume. Finished in bird’s eye maple or ma- hogany. American Shield in colors on side, Complete with sticks and sling. Price. .. . 1 S2 OrderDirectfromthis ad. Botharticles guaranteed. Sold on trial and your money back if you want it. Send now for instrument you want or write for Free descriptive folder. F. MILLARD COMPANY, INC. 306 AMELIA ST. PLYMOUTH, MICH. XUM Th

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FE Com aoe + al ’ —PeeNS he: UM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine OFFICIAL BOSTON AGENTS or BOY SCOUT UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT OF EVERY KIND AND DESCRIPTION Wear resisting school clothing, for Boys. -Also Hats, Shoes and Furnishings. os ASfagmano( THE - SERVICE > STORE BOYS YOU CAN MAKE MONEY For your Equipment, Uniforms or any other needs. SAVE WASTE PAPER If there is a junk dealer in your town, write usfor our plan, for you or your com- pany. Box Board Mfrs. Assn. 332 S. Mich. Avenue Chicago - - - Illinois Hey!Fellow - Have YouA 54/88 Horn On Your Bike? “Sure, I wouldn't be without it’’—of course not— you would not be without the protection of aSEISS Horn. Then, too, its appearance adds class to the bike. It is easy to operate and long lived. If not at your dealers, write us. Free—interesting, instructive “ Safe ty Code and Signal Chart.” W rite forit. $1.75 Model ‘*‘B”’ Handsome—All Black Enamel. Like illustration $1.25 Model “N.B.” Same appearance with- out” Bell,” slightiy different con- Struction. Other Models 30c, 50c, 75c. Also SE ISS Horns for Motorcycles— a rucks— Motor Boats—Juve- b nile Vehicles. hs Writefor descriptivefolders l\ a ca SZ —~ The Seiss Mig. Co, O—, — 481 Alexis Ave Toledo, Ohio in that semi-darkness, he swiftly crossed the narrow place and lifted up one hand. There was a faint click, and instantly two narrow slits appeared in the metal wall at least three feet apart. Through them a clear light pene- trated, bringing into sharp relief the evil face of the man with the cropped ear. He bent his head a little to peer through one of the narrow openings. Without with- drawing his gaze, his right hand closed about the lever-handle, and he moved it slightly for- ward and back as if testing some mechanism. Then all at once he turned and saw them. FLASH of recognition leaped into the evil, slanting eyes, mingled with fear, intense surprise and a sort of venomous pur- pose. The lips parted swiftly, but before a sound came forth, Larry’s fingers closed about the skinny throat and he bore the fellow back- ward to the floor. A silent struggle followed, fierce but brief. Jim dodged around them trying fruitlessly to help, but at no time was there really any need. Larry Doyle was a mass of live muscle strung on steel wire and when he loosened his grip a few minutes later, the Chinaman fell back limp, unconscious, Thinking that it might possibly be of later use, they had brought along the very cord with which they themselves had been tied. With this they tightly bound the Chinaman and thrust a handkerchief into his mouth to gag him. Then, while Jim stood guard over the captive, Larry stepped quickly over to peer through one of the narrow slits, Then and only then did he realize their whereabouts. They were standing inside the head of the great bronze Buddha of the cave. The slit was merely a peephole in the left eye of the image. There could be no doubt about it. Within his vision were at least a dozen of the golden dragons holding aloft their glowing crystal globes. Beyond them Larry could make out distinctly the entrance, now clear and open, with a number of the guards standing on either side. lis gaze shifted: paused for a moment on | the close-fitting yellow satin cap of Fu-chong, who sat directly underneath; flitted to the small ebony stand on the mandarin’s left hand, where, bulging beneath an embroidered satin cover, lay their precious automatics. Finally it came to rest upon a man who stood below the platform. He was tall, lean, dark-faced and smoothly shaven. At first Larry took him for a Sikh, whose garb and turban he wore. Then he noticed that the spotless linen tunic had been torn roughly away from one shoulder and hung in tatters. Just below the stranger’s throat there was a sharp line of color demar- cation. Above it face and neck were brown as any native’s. But below that line Larry caught glimpses beneath the tattered linen fragments, of a muscular chest and upper arm as white as were his own. HE discovery sent through him a shock of keen surprise. Then he realized that Fu- chong was speaking and strained his ears. “And so you thought that a little dye and a change of clothes would, in my eyes, trans- form an English officer into a Sikh,” re- marked Fu-chong, his silky tones tinctured with not a little irritation. ‘‘I thank you for the compliment to my intelligence. No doubt you also supposed that your horde of Indian soldiers so flimsily disguised as bearers of the opium caravan would be admitted here without question. It must have been an un- pleasant surprise to find that you were obliged to precede them alone.” He paused, but the man before him made no answer. Erect, soldierly in spite of his bonds, his clear, brown eyes fearlessly returned the mandarin’s heavy-lidded stare, “Stubborn,” murmured Fu-chong at length. “TI fear it will do no good. We have you safe and we do not mean to let you go. I wonder what those men of yours will think when the days pass and you fail to return.” Still the man was silent. And now, of a sudden, Larry observed for the first time the eurious bronze slab set into the floor of the eave directly at the foot of the platform. It was partly covered by a rug and he had not noticed it before. 3ut from this point of vantage it stood out clearly—a rectangle of bronze some twelve feet long by a third as | wide, centering directly on the great Buddha, The stranger stood a few inches beyond its further margin. Larry was conscious of a sudden, unaccount- able interest in that slab. What was it there for? What purpose did it serve? Like many wanderers in strange climes where danger often lurks in unexpected guises, he had acquired an almost uncanny power of sensing peril. And now, abruptly, that bronze slab loomed up in his brain as a distinct menace, vivid and imminent. His interest in the problem caused him to miss a few bland words from the creature in the yellow cap below him. Then Fu-chong: spoke: “Step forward!” HE Englishman did not stir, but of a sud- den he broke his prolonged silence. “Why should I?” he demanded _icily. “You've got me. You can drag me anywhere And let me 53 Our Many-Tongued Ancestors Born of the diverse nations of _ intimate, personal speech be- the earth, Americans appreciate, tween all kinds of people a now more than ever before, the matter of constant occurrence. necessity for national unity; one flag, one purpose, one form of patriotic understanding. But the telephone is no inter- preter. If its far reaching wires are to be effective, those who A confusion of tongues use them must speak the same makes for a confusion of ideas language. The telephone best and principles. Everything serves those who have become which goes toward the up-build- —_ one with us in speech. ing and maintenance of a one language people makes for national strength and national Yet uniformity of language is not enough from those who would gain the greatest good from the telephone, neither is It is in such service that the financial support enough; for Bell Telephone has played so complete service makes essen- vital a part. Its wires reachevery tial true co-operation on the progress, corner of the country, making __ part of every subscriber. AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY AND ASSOCIATED COMPANIES One Policy One System Universal Service Complete Radio Outfits for Boys Get a wireless set and receive messages like a regular oper ator. deForest Radio Receiving Stations are practical, scientific outfits made by the makers of the big Government and Commercial apparatus, and specially developed for amateur use. Each set is complete with all instruments, in- eluding Crystal or Audion Detector, deForest ** Honey Comb” Tuning Coils, Condensers, Head Telephones, Aerial and Ground; everything ready to set up and operate. This is the simplest, most satisfactory and least expensive way to get a wireless outfit. Find out all about it Send Now for This Book ___, This book gives full details and also much general and valuable Radio Infor- HowtoSet Up An mation. Sent postpaid for 10 cents in Amateur Radio stamps. deForest Apparatus is sold by Receiving Station Electrical Dealers in principal cities. Ask your dealer for these sets. Raillo, ‘Receiving, station — DeForest Radio Tel. and Tel. Co. An inexpensive outfit for the beginner, complete in every Inventors and Manufacturers of detail. The book tells about HIGH GRADE RADIO APPARATUS this _and larger sets. Send 1397 Sedgwick Ave., New York City for your copy at once. you like by force—not otherwise. o — tell you one thing: You talk about those men | AEP ASSET IRATE AVE LEONA WEEE BP BEALE ERE

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“‘I Want a Bicycle This Spring, Dad” “« LL the boys around here are getting them, and they're planning some dandy times just as soon as the roads are dry. “Dr. Smith’s boy has his now—and his father says a wheel is better than medicine for making boys healthy and strong. ‘*The wheels the boys are buying all have New Departure Coaster Brakes. The fellows say it is as reliable as the sun. They call it ‘The Brake that Brought the Bike Back.’ It’s mounted on ball bearings, and it takes all the hard work out of riding—so you get exercise without being all tired out. “It makes riding safe, too, for when you want to slow up or stop, you just press backward on the pedal and the brake does the rest—and does it quick. “I'm going to send for the story—‘Billy’s Bicycle Triumphs.’ It’s a dandy and | want you to read it, too. They send it free to any boy who writes for it. NEW DEPARTURE MANUFACTURING CO., Bristol, Conn., U. S. A.

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of mine wondering what has happened to me. They'll wonder, but they'll wait—wait ‘till Doomsday. They're that sort. They'll wait until you and your litter of beastly, burrow- ing rats are starved enough to crawl out into their hands. No matter what you do to me, you've got to face it.” Silence, tense, pregnant, instant the defiant words. Then suddenly, with surprising nimbleness, Fu-chong sprang up and stepped down swiftly from the plat- form. Lifting his purple fan, he struck the officer his face with a force which splintered into fragments the ivory sticks. “You scum!” he snarled furiously. Swiftly responsive to that leaping crimson welt, the blood flamed hotly into Larry's face. His hands clenched, driving the nails pain- fully into his palms: the intuitive of imminent peril grew more pressing. Some- how he had begun to connect it with the slab, and his brain wrestled desperately with followed for an across sense the problem. What was it there for? Fu- chong stood squarely on it—squarely and safely; and yet— . . Ah! <A sudden, blinding light flashed into Larry's conscious ness, The crop-eared Chinaman had come into that recess with a purpose. . ... The lever! Could that be it? With swift impulsiveness he handle of the bronze rod and thrust grasped the forward with all his strength. There came a muffled, grinding jar. A scream, shrill, terrifying, horrible, rang through the cave. The slab swung down revealing glimpses of a bottomless abyss, out of which came the sound of swiftly rushing water. Fu-chong tottered, clawed frantically at the lower step of the platform, and then, with another shriek that froze the abruptly, blood, he vanished out of sight. For one brief, paralyzed second Larry stood rigid, sweat dampening his forehead. Then, as his glance took in the stunned, frightened group of Chinamen over by the door, he awoke to instant action. “Quick!” he ripped out to Jim McLean. “ Fu-chong’s done for—dropped into the bowels of the earth, The others are scared stiff. It’s our one chance to rush ’em before they come to. I know where our guns are.” E had corner little door in one and knew that it must open into the cave, close to the right hand of the Buddha. Gripping in one hand the slim, straight knife he had taken from the helpless Chinaman, he swiftly undid the catch and sprang out upon the platform, Jim close at his heels. At the sight of these two, whom they sup- posed helpless captives in the cedar room, a gasping shudder rose from the throng huddled about the doorway. Already dazed and para- lyzed by the fate of their leader, whom they had looked on as invulnerable; ignorant and superstitious at best, this new development seemed to their addled minds a fresh evidence of their god’s displeasure. As Larry twitched the cover from the stand that concealed the automatics, one of the guards fired a hasty shot in their direction. But the bullet went wild, striking the sacred Buddha on the breast and bringing added con sternation to minds already on the verge of panic. A shot or two fired at random, com- pleted the work and sent them scurrying to right and left like rats to their burrows. Nevertheless, Larry did not deem it safe to remembered the of the recess linger. He took the gaping chasm in a run- ning jump and paused beside the stalwart Englishman, who had scarcely stirred from his first position. A stroke or two of the keen knife freed the stranger's hands. ‘““Thanks,” he murmured coolly. “You chaps are extraordinarily well timed, you know." Larry grinned briefly. up above, haven't you?” ‘You got some men he asked quickly. The other nodded. “ Well, let’s get to them,” pursued Larry. “These beggars are a rotten lot, but even rats fight when they’re cornered. I'd like to have the odds a little more in our favor before they come to and realize the trap they're in.” He started briskly across the cave with Jim. The Englishman paused a moment to glance once more into the cavity at his feet with an expression of profound satisfaction. Then he hastened after the others, HE courtyard was a scene of the liveliest animation. Saddle horses and laden pack animals were tethered here and there. Two fires were burning, and around them were gathered upwards of fifty Hindoos and Sikhs, who started up with exclamations of pleas ure as the officer appeared. A few words from him sent them scurrying for their weapons. their dark faces fierce and determined. A couple of minutes later, under the leadership of a native officer, they were advancing toward the ruin. “They're a fine lot,” remarked Captain Curtis. ““T picked them especially when we hit on this scheme of sending up a fake opium caravan to eatch that fox, Fu-chong. He was a fox, too by Jove! I had no idea he’d insist on my coming in first alone, and of course IT couldn’t draw back then without spoiling the whole show, If it hadn't been for———”

BOYS’ LIFE

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The Boy Scouts’ Magazine 55 | ‘““We were just as easy,” protested the boy. “You see, we'd heard something about the ce ° A B ° l ed location of this place and our idea was to R ide ICYC e spy about and make sure, Instead, we walked into a trap as nicely as you please. Though it was a pretty good trap,” he added. “And you don’t seem to have stayed in it long,” observed the Englishman. ‘I’ve been thy through some odd experiences, but I don’t TULLE LLL LLL al: CLOTH ELIE EL FALE ¢? think I've ever had quite such a shock as Sees ‘ 44 4 | when that fat devil went suddenly through \ the floor, clawing and squealing. To see him fall into his own trap so neatly was really worth all the previous wear and tear on my - . nervous system. I'm most awfully keen to hear how you managed it, and a little later-— 7 * HIGH SCHOOL Well, here we are. Now let’s get to business.” | lun ? | OMETHING more than an hour afterward IS Y Pee litehy 3 ihe they were standing again in the great cave of the golden dragons. Fu-chong’s ad- herents, who had been run to earth and cap- ° ° 1° ' tured almost without resistance, were being 1S the basis of MORRO W dependabili- forced up the narrow stairway by the Indian ty. Theunits makingupthe MORROW guards, The three had swopped stories and ; VER 50,000 ambitious men and | | * few minutes before had returned from a Brake are dependent on this sturdy axle, thorough xploration of the underground . he i . women have secured better posi- | | {herons japioration of ne ie cidenee and are held in place by the distin¢tive tions as a result of this course. that it was the headquarters of the opium bushin y shown on the axle Noted professors have specially pre- smugglers, they had also come upon a number | g ° pared the lessons for home study — and of ingenious modern improvements, such as it can be completed within two years. the electric dynamo Larry suspected. It is complete and covers all require- “Fu-chong was responsible for those, of ments for entrance to college, civil serv- course,” observed Captain Curtis. ‘ No doubt . sas : : he discovered the place and adapted it to his Yo positions — grt yes oe purpose. I'm inclined to think, though, that coin” Sink aae-an eee oo a as a whole it existed when the monastery rouble. 1 —_ up there was at its prime. That bronze trap your spare time— and you will be men- letting down into the underground river is tally equipping yourself for the position old as the hills. So are those golden dragons, you want. Without a High School train- | | aren't they?” oe COASTER B can’t afford to overlook this essential Larry, who had bean examining them with a . professional curiosity, “they're wonders. I a 7 ——— education—not if you | wish I could scoop in all that’s in this cave. The axle is durably constructed of the best steel and ° ra ~ — pw wallet aie CeeEeeE SeD is designed to withstand severe use—sudden jolts and OOK 1Ke lirty cents, . . g Satisfaction Guaranteed Captain Curtis smiled. “ Why don’t you strains. And it does, as does every part of a MOR- So that you may see for yourself how thorough | | suzgest that to the government?” he asked ROW Brake. MORROW hasgreaterbraking surface High School or any of our practical courses— P ae 0 asc wd me 7 eS ae and more ball bearings which insure dependable we invite you to take TEN LESSONS before you avo PAY ay Cane. : re x : decide whether you wish to continue. After the **You think so?’”? demanded Larry, his eyes | braking, positive forward aétion and easy coasting. completion of ten examinations you have only shining. ‘‘Gee-whiz! If I only believed they to tell us you are dissatisfied with your course would! But see here! That reward belongs and your money will be refunded in full. You run to you as much as us.” k—so check and mail the coupon for a Free ad oe Ne ae p : ' no ris| The Englishman shook his head decidedly. | Bulletin. de tO “Not a bit of it! If it hadn’t been for you 7 Am . two my—how is it that you Americans put —_—__— erican Schoo 0 orrespondence it?—-my name would have been—Dennis.” Gree CasOnS Dept. H. 94 Chicago, U.S. A, Larry laughed at the way he said it. or the ‘““And if you hadn’t shown up when you Dandy : lop did,” he retorted, ‘‘we should probably have been feeding the ‘fishes by this time— if they Orrolw. Explain how I can qualify : for the position checked. have fishes down there in the dark. It’s a Get a MORROW Toy Top from — High School Graduate .... Lawyer fifty-fifty proposition, all right, but we won’t : . : ‘sof Braking surface 6 3-10 8q.in.— ini Electrical Engineer ..Business Manager come sec , s ‘ . ; th your bicycle dealer if you haven’tal- l . a wise Electric Light and Power “....Certified Pub. Ace’nt fight over it. You do your best to get us the ta ail Gndita dani ect much larger than other brakes, Superintendent Accountant and Auditor stuff here instead of cash and we can do our ready. ag tale sgryy eis Jl ‘aigal ~--nieociostete Engineer ‘eaesnd squabbling later.” ner for indoors or out. It is free. p?) ‘Drum’ expansion forced equal eoceee ele one ngin enogra er s c “Telegraph ieaivear Fire Insurance Expert And there they left it. Tell the other boys about them. ™ ly by two wedges at each end «Wireless Operator 2 ae Engineer ; a —e ees eee tS ee Avehitens ¥ peerage, Se The End tion over entire inner hub surface. ptt Building Contractor se Heating and Ventilating ee ...Civil Engineer Enginee . aoe 3 Bronze brake shoes being soft- ool Structural Engineer n:cchepeeaaetie Engineer . AUN ' ' TAMU erthan hard steel inner surface ...Mechanical Engineer __...... Automobile Repairman grip smoothly, firmly, surely, \ Shop Superintendent ___....... Airplane Mechanic ++«.Steam Engineer Gen’] Education Courses Curly and the éccee Draftsman and Designer -Common School Branches ...’hoteplay Writer ; 4 poh Employment Manager Aztec Gol el —~~-Foreman’s Training Course For forward pedaling, the Mor- row responds instantly and pos- itively, Sturdy ! IN scteittrsincceniaeens — = — a (Continued from page 29) | e f pa | 5 More ball-bearings than other Address brakes, so coasts more easily. | fe , = The Morrow is strong and carried to the wagons, . | sturdy; it will stand hard wear, 2 Fs | e our They were up with the sun next morning, and after swallowing a hurried breakfast, Ninety-five inspections, — fol- Get started up the canyon, laden with piles of * lowed by a final test, guarantee- ing perfect service, o- Choice ©: One heavy canvas bags. These Wonderful IIE colonel skipped along like a boy, fairly Sure e consumed with eagerness to see the won- | “ . = _ ~ r whic ad heard s é ECLIPSE MACHINE COMPANY ROBBI NS ders of which he had heard so much, In a | : few minutes they reached the rude carving se Electrical of the sleeping serpent, and Berkeley paused. ELMIRA, NEw YorK - As the rocky door swung open before his face, Tele hone Sets oc: pmesee ll ny NA ee “Did you - Pp ever see such joining?” See that your bicycle has a MORROW Brake! Which do you want? Both perfect. Guaranteed to Diease or money petunded. “It's a fine piece of work,” Berkeley reat for fun ousands 0 ys have acree “Now fe ro 9? » > rning them. Just the thing for Boy Scouts and agreed. Now, fellows,” he added, turning all Real Boys. Very easy to put up and to the men, “ light your candles. 5 R E G U ® AT I oO N use. Operate on dry batteries (ass $2 They entered the cavern and turned to- Co this Sketch | oe eee y ward the glittering image of Huitzel, en- PY } A i> 4 M . J B U G LE Robbins Tele ephone Set shrined upon its throne of gold. As the | and fet me see what you SS Think of it! — onl 00 for this real lights from the many candles shone upon | can do with it. A large ee keine wae ae aes ee it, Colonel Vandergrift gave a queer gurg- | proportion of the younger where. Comes complete — 2 receivers, 2 ling sound and turned quite pale. generation of successful news- transmitters and 100 feet of wire. Will ! * Heavens above!” he gasped in a dazed paper artists who are earn- poe MI distance by use of tone. “I never dreamed of anything like | ing from $30.00 to $125.00 or this. Why, Dean, that’s the most wonder- | More per week were trained ful thing of its kind in the world.” by the Landon “Picture Robbins Wail het ny eon ry th : - ‘Isn't it superb? Did you ever see any- Chart” Method. Use your Finest phone of its class on the mar- » spare time. Learn to make w#* ket; call at both ends. Use : +L ancl shin ‘ ; indoors anywhere. ...... Only thing like the workmanship? It must have original drawings by the =A > Looks and works like regul: uy 20 been one of their most sacred _ idols. I ; Pre am sed oe Run it to your pal’s house or any place. shouldn’t wonde r at all——” cou thod which has enabled a 7 Comes complete, two phones and 300 : : ‘a many others to succeed. Send sketch of Uncle | , + Quartermaster, U.S. Army, hasordered feet of wire * Now, Dean! Curly gently reproached | Sam with 6c in stamps for sample Picture Chart, | ‘. spi ee, 2 erie n ‘warmy. 7 car are aan delay, tehe your ghelee, him. “If you once get started that way | and examples of the work of successful boy students per teanar wisty lhcn with the khaki uniforms os wonderful Shenae ol pom pong we'll never do any packing.” | Ww hich will show possibilities for YOU. Please state Send us $4 25 and we will ship Bugle subject to Berkeley laughed. “Right,” he agreed, | your age. three days’ trial. If youare not pleased, return the Bugle and we willimmediately refund your money. Ask Your Dealer Order now. Be sure it’s a Robbins. Inquire of yout dealeror order direct from this ad. Send money order turning to the men who were staring about y te ry them open-mouthed. 7 re Mw’ stuff must “Che Landon School be packed into the bags, Bugle can be sent to you by mail if postage is included. Weight when packed, 1 1b. 9 oz. GRAND RAPIDS BAND INSTRUMENT CO. or check, Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Back. mn 9 . ~AR’ IIN } : “These bars, too?” asked one, of CARTOONING and ILLUSTRATING Pare : a ROBBINS MANUFACTURING COMPANY “Yes,” said Berkeley, suppressing a smile 1396 Schofield Bldg. Clevéland; Olio 1602 Division Ave., Goond Soest Michigan 1807 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago i pony Mr first.” o Bas ° Manufacturers Band Instruments

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1 56 BOYS’ LIFE * iM haMataeMaMeMets MaMa sata se ete e"s "ste s a ess” SE eee nn ee RRR URREREURERELERERERERERERERERERER UE ae Suggestions For Your Next Hike| | Are You Properly Equipped? First Aid Pouches

Compasses No. B-1273. TELAWAY COMPASS. This No. B-1101. HOSPITAL CORPS isa thoroughly reliable compass at a low price. FIRST-AID POUCH. It is desirable It was designed primarily with Scouts in that every troop have a picked first-aid mind. Case is dull gun metal finish with squad. This outfit is very complete. Contains shears, tweezers, carbolized heavy crystal. Special steel needle, care- . N : a vaseline, package of safety pins, two fully magnetized and fitted with jeweled , : ‘ ; wire gauze splints, two OZs. aromatic spirits of ammonia, one _ individual first-aid outfit (cardboard), two one- yard bandages of sterilized gauze, three one-inch bandages, three two and one- center. Diameter 14% in. Prepaid..... 50c.

No. 1202. LEEDAWL. Solid white metal case, open face, graduated to 2°. Diameter

wits Gah cities ceonnckcactll $1.00 ~~ gle aga two triangular bandages (cartons), one U. S. wee Given for 1 subscription to BO YS’ LIFE and 25c. Given for six $2.00 subscriptions to BOYS’ LIFE and 50c.

Cook Kits No. B-1200. ALUMINUM COOK KIT. A new Scout mess kit. Complete in every detail and bound to be popular. Outfit consists of patent fry pan with handle, cooking pot with cover, drinking cup, and stew pan, which ilso serves as plate or soup bowl. There is also a fork and spoon. All pieces with exception of fork and spoon, are made of heavy gauge pure aluminum of the famous “Wearever” brand. Parts nest compactly and do not rattle. Khaki carrving case to match uniform, with adjustable strap. Weight 3 lbs. $3.25 Given for four subscriptions to BOYS’ LIFE and 25 cents. Canteens No. B-1201. ALUMINUM CANTEEN. The makers of this famous brand of aluminum utensils have made for the Boy Scouts of America an almost ideal canteen of heavy gauge stock with olive drab cover and adjustable carrying strap. The capacity is just over a quart. Shipping weight, 1 Ib................... $3.00 Given for three $2.00 subscriptions to BOYS’ LIFE and 50c.

“‘Theroz” Alcohol Heaters and Fuel Theroz is the hottest, safest and cheapest solid- What better for the Sea Scout who is floating down ified heat on the market today. More heat per the river in boat or on a raft? Puts the joy back into set aed woe auhbe insle ta whet won wate a rainy day hike. Theroz burner complete with twenty- ih nage Cj gary _—— five cubes of Theroz fuel 40 cents. Shipping weight 2 , . Serge , are making up your “‘go-light Pack. Life boats on pounds. Additional cans of Theroz Fuel Cubes, 25 many of the transports were equipped with Theroz. cents each. Shipping weight 1 pound.

SW RERERERERELERERERELUSEEEEEREREEEECRERE LIM ER EREEEEEEEEE ECC E eee ene PRE RERERERERERERERERERERERELELELELELEE EEE EEE eee eee Signal Flags Scout Bugles Squares No. B- 1065. BOY SCOUT BUGLE. This is a . No. B-1058. MORSE CODE SIGNAL standard United States Army bugle. An instrument FLAGS. Best quality muslin. Size of good quality, is easy to blow and has a mellow sg — Baa pro + vig tone. Furnished in key of G with tuning slide to F. N : : oi ‘ . We Sold only in pairs. Pair............. 60c. Made of brass and has two turns. Shipping weight, wi ge AR ee oe er rr eT ee $3.50 - J pr Diagonals No. B-1415. EXTRA QUALITY BUGLE. We | % ae ee —_ recommend this instrument to those who wish . d 3S. Ss < j usin. ° - - @ e 2 Fae aeetae. Ges 0 x 18 ade + piles something extra fine. An instrument of exceptional ch Stee ee etal tubing tn three sections divided diagonally. Sold only in — quality and appearance. Same as No. B - 1065 but tN with very strong reinforced joints Poie is NN a eh SI a a a oe i tg _.55c. ee. eee . ~ i 24 ¢ a = 714 ll s. rT 0o attache stumtiacd wie war fla, Finished Given for one subscription to BOYS’ memes and finer finish. Shipping weight, 7 ¥ 1b a Se black. Shipping weight 5 Ibs. $3.00 LIFE. I ee oe 6 ee ees Oe ae Od Relea eee mle & as be Fy ro Consult our Latest Supply Catalog for Complete Information : . « ° 7 ql Concerning Scout Supplies and Camping Equipment :

DEPARTMENT OF 200 FIFTH AVENUE scoot seus Ot SCOUTS GF AMERICA ™ vo vee , ee ee PEER RERERELEBLELELEL ELLE TELE ULE EE LELELELELE REL EEEUEEUEEE EE LELEEELEREEELELELELELELLLLLL as eRe E EERE EEE ES

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The Boy Scouts’ Magazine ” TERRE EEEEEE EE Soe wee ERE RERERRERERELERELEEREREREREERERERREEERUREREERRERER ES EE RREREREREREREREREREEEEEEELELEEERELECLELS EE a | 2 = a) Spring Time Is Hike Time: tS a » ; 2% Equipment You Need Is Here At Money Saving Prices & Th Big C ing Special In these days of high prices it will be welcome news to thrifty scouts to learn that it is still possible to buy a good, sturdy two-piece camp blanket at the low price of $5.00. It was only by our taking advantage of a rare merchandising opportunity that you can buy these blankets now at a price which means a big saving. But they are only a special lot and when these are gone it will mean a jump back to our regular $6.50 blanket. The special price is made possible by sewing two mill ends together to get one blanket, size 58x84 inches—only eight inches narrower than the standard size army blanket. .On account of their reduced size they are admirably suited for boys. These are durable, heavy woolen khaki blankets with years of hard camping service in them. Order by Catalog No. B. 1418 Will the call of the wild find you as fully prepared as this bunch? Warm Two-Piece Limited Quantity Only While They Last $500 Plus Postage On 4 Ibs. Camp Blankets Size 58 x 84 Inches $5.00 Plus Postage On 4 lbs. Bedding Roll and Carryall No. B-1412. Made of heavy brown waterproof duck. Length 75 inches, width 34 inches. Has deep pocket in each end, and broad flap at one end and at sides which fold in so as to prevent anything working out when rolled. Edges of flaps are taped and can be made into sleeping bag when tied together. This roll will hold pad, blankets, your folding cot and spare clothing, all rolled up in a convenient Waterproof pack held together by two six-foot trunk straps. Used Army Ponchos For April Showers In planning your camping equipment be sure to include one of these ponchos. We have been able to obtain another lot of used Army ponchos. These are in men’s size, 60 inches wide by 75 inches long, but they are also suitable for large boys. All are in good condition and will give splendid service and are identical in quality and style to the poncho which we regularly sell at $5.00. The material used is double textured, olive drab bombazine with a coating of fine Para rubber in between, giving exceptional ee as wearing qualities under the most severe tests. This roll was used by officers here and ; : - Strongly sewed, cemented and cured. Can also abroad serving the purpose of bedding oak roll, clothing roll, duffel bag, sleeping bag and general carry-all. Furnished with strong handle and when tolled can be checked as hand baggage. All new and in perfect condition. Shipping weight, 5 Ibs. A limited quantity only. While they last at special price of...............-$3.00 —— be used as ground blanket or shelter tent. While this lot lasts they will be sold “as are,”’ $3.00 each, which means a big saving. The sup- ply we have available will be ample to fill a considerable quantity of orders and while they last can be had at this special price. Order by No. B-641 and include postage or carriage charges on 5 lbs...... $3.00 secerrusne.2s BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA ™ rir" cus""* ee ane a ata a ae a ae ae a ee a ee ee nn a en no se an a ea a na ens 2"2"a "2s "nan "a"s a a"a"o"s"a"a"a a” ae ne 77.72" a" "a" sn e's ne se se aon ee a nn” vs nas ’ SREREREREREREUERERERERERESEREREREEEEEREEREREEEER EEE EE EE sss sh BEE REREREERERERERERREELEL REEL E EEE As ss SR RERERRERERE ERE ESE EEE ‘nn Ee ERR ERROR REE ELE EEE EE aseaaa

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“A P Signs of Spring Kites sailing in the breeze— kids on their knees “knuckling down” at marbles—the girls .| outwith “jacks” and skipping ropes— And everybody eating Cracker Jack! Say, don’t those golden kernels of lj popcorn and candy-covered peanuts | taste good in the Spring! It doesn’t seem as though Spring could come without Cracker Jack! Remember—there’s only one Cracker Jack. It has the Cracker Jack boy on the outside. Insist on it. in is a toy or novelty to add pleasure to your purchase. re ‘: Your neighborhood dealer who sells candy will appreciate your Cracker Jack patronage RUECKHEIM BROS, & ECKSTEIN Makers of Cracker Jack, Angelus Marshmallows and other “RELIABLE” Confections Chicago and Brooklyn The Wax- Sealed iF, Package SBE P She more you eat - “Jhe more you want With- % | Did you ever know a boy who had gone to Culver for the summer? Did Naval Cavalry he tell you about the eight weeks irtillery tram} through woods, camping, Vo f and mixing with * reai we ore Did he tell you all the (On Lake lore of the woods that he knew and Vaxrinkuckee) What a world of fun he had learning it? Ask any boy who has erer spent a summer at Culver and he will tell you wonderful things about the hikes the boys took, the horses that they rode, the lif afloat and how the eame home brown as_ ber- ries and hard as nails ralk it over with Dad and se what he says about a summer at Culver for you, Write for the catalog of the school that you would like to attend, Naval Schoo minimum age 14; Cavalry School—14, Artillery School—14, Woodcraft—12 Address Catalogue Bureau, Culver, Ind, RAISE GUINEA PIGS For the Home or School Room, PLAYS T. S. DENISON 4& CO., Deot.18 . CHICACO, ILL Pa os illustrated book explains all Laboratory Supply Co., Dept. P. 2841 Ridge Ave., Phila., Do You Take Pictures? Write for free sample of our big maguzine, showing how to make better pictures and earn money demand, Pay better than. poultry or squabs, articulars, contract, booklet how to raise FREE. Write today. profable- bi For Boy Scouts, m For Boy Scouts, Camp Fir ireGi ris, more profitable than poultry. Big Dialogs, Speakers, Monologs, demand; thousands needed. Experi- Minstrel Jokes, E ntestainme = ence unnecessary Send for our aes Recitations, Tableaux, Ga money-making proposition and big free Drills, How to TL tow to tans age a Play. Catalogue Free. AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPH Y, 464 Pope Bldg, Boston, Mass. CAVIES DISTRISUTING CO., 311 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Mo. Then everyone set to work with a will. As was filled and tied up it was the shore and deposited in soon as a bag carried down to one of the $y dusk everything river, up the first beside the crevice, boats. had been taken across cliff and compactly where they made the heaped camp. About had been the cavalcade very imposing on either two o’clock the next day everything stowed away in the wagons and left the canyon. It looked with the mounted men riding side of the laden wagons, and Homer brought cavalcade, and as the ultimate trying to URLY and Dorothy up the rear of the they rode they fell to discussing disposition of the treasure and estimate its value. ‘It's going to be something you know that?” said Curly. ‘Who'll get it all?” asked Homer. “Why, all of us, I suppose,’ returned Curly. ‘*I imagine it will be divided into shares, Say the colonel takes five shares financed the outfit; it may be Then Dean, being leader of get two, and the rest of us tremendous, do he's less. might because more or the party, one each.” ‘But that wouldn't Homer. “ You ought to get more than the rest of us. Why, poor old Pennington gave you the map and everything.” ‘Shucks!” sniffed Curly. and Jack been through as much many risks as anyone. Well, we won't dis- cuss it,” seeing that Homer was still uncon- vinced. “I'm not going to think about it. Something is sure to dish us before we get it in a safe place.” ‘I wish you'd done said Homer meditatively. “T wish we had!” exclaimed Curly, be fair,” protested ‘*Haven’t you and run as up Bull Henger,” the outlaws next, and when they the following morning general feeling of relief. everything had been station agent notified go east on the 6.40 decided that the whole party should on to New York to take part in the disposition of the treasure, so Curly had a talk with George Harrison in which it was finally arranged that they should meet in his lawyer's office at Gaiveston three weeks from that day. “And you needn't do meantime about your assured the big man. ‘It’s as safe as if you had the money in the bank.” At that moment Colonel Vandergrift ap- peared and in his bluff, hearty fashion presented the mules and wagons to Harri- son, and turned the horses over to Curly with the suggestion that he distribute them amongst the men who had rescued them that night from Henger. It was a pleasant task, but took erable time. As Curly hurried toward the train a man suddenly stepped out, stared at him for an instant and then abruptly turned aside and disappeared. UT there signs of that day drove into there was a In an hour away and the they wished to It had been were no or the Yampa stowed that train. go any fretting in the title to the ranch,” consid- Curly sped on, wondering a little at the vague familiarity of the fellow’s face. Sud- denly his fears and forebodings returned ten- had met face to face at was none other than one of one of those very scoundrels poor Pennington from behind gully back in Utab For the man he the station door Henger’s gang who had shot at the boulder in that fold. CHAPTER XXIV IIetp Ur! N THE calm his Curly paused to consider the = situa- his identification, wonder why even The treasure was fifteen or twenty ear vestibule nerves and tion. Ile was sure of but now he began to that should worry him. safe in the car and within minutes they would be speeding swiftly away from Yampa and danger. The fellow he had met was beyond doubt an outlaw and should be turned over to justice. Had there been time, Curly would himself have done his best in that direction, But even as he stood there the distant whistle of the approaching engine came to his ears, and he knew there wasn’t. The peaceful inside even more soothing Dusk was several of the lig hts had been turned = on. In their cheerful glow he saw the colonel and terkeley’s bending, enthralled, over the chest of manuscripts. Dorothy . was similarly entertained with the jewels in the aller casket, while Homer and Jim Rup pert chatted with Curtis, who lay on a couch at the further end of the compartment. ‘The train’s coming,” announced Curly. “Good,” said Curtis. “Then we ought to be off,in a few minutes. I shan’t feel really safe until we're out of here.” Curly stared at him. “Why?” he “You've not seen any of - ‘No; it’s just general principles. Bull Henger.” Obeying an impulse, Curly hastily told them of his encounter with the man at the the car was falling and scene asked. I know ] BOYS’ LIFE [No adrertisements for this column are Accepted unless they meet the approval of an expert in stamp matters, .Kindly report any unsatisfactory ; erviee. Here’s a chance for you to fill th: at: aa in your stamp album. Use our approval sheets which contain stamps of —- ¢ or stamp: rare varieties to help you “select ant es se Write us today, giving the name of some responsible and we will send you several approval sheets of the you want. SCOTT STAMP AND COIN COMPANY 33 West 44th Street NEW YorK cluding Siam, 150 and Newfoundland, 15 Cents, Free Packet Applicants For Approvals—Postage 2 Cents, R. H. LASCHINGER Dept. C., 3714 Worth St., Dallas, Texas, SNAPS } S., including $1 and $2 revenues, for lle. With ak order we give free our pamphlet tells “How to Make a Collection Properly.” we Stamp & Coin Co., Room 35, 604 Race St., Cincinnati, 0, ‘“‘TEAM-WORK”’— v3 Nt every scout knows Its value; we apply it to - amp collecting; write and ask us—we'll OW, tell you and send you some stam ob appr make your eyes stick out - sidestep CONCORD STAMP CLUB, Bor 3, Concord, N. H, STAMPS 50 all different. fap Derson Stamps Different Foreign Stamps, In- Bolivia, Egypt of 50 Stamps to 150 Different we 15e. 60 Diserent British Guiana, Cuba, China, India, Jamaica, Japan, Portugal, Venezuela, etc., only 10c; 100 all different 20e; 1000 all different fine collection in itself $5.00; 100 different U. S. 50e; 1000 hinges lie: Agents wanted 50 per cent commission. List Free I BUY STAMPS, OVERLAND. M , L. B. DOVER STAMPS all different. Tr..n3- SOvat, Brazil, Peru, Oc Cuba, Mex- ico, Ceylon, Java, ete.,and Album, 1000 finely mixed, 40c; 60 different U. s. 25c; 1000 hinges, 10c. Agents wanted. 50 per cent List Free. J buy stamps. C. STEGMAN, 5951 Cote Brilliante Ave., St. Louis, Me, 1 58 Genuine Foreign Stamps—Mexico War steer: Venezuela, Salvador and India Service uatemala, China, et Only 10c. Finest A 4 oval Sheets 50 = per cent, IN ANTED. Big 72 cists Free. We Buy Dhani HUSSMAN STAMP €O., Established 25 years. Dept. 78, ST. LOUIS. Mo, BONANZA BARGAIN OFFER 51 different stamps, packet 5 unused, scarce animal stamps, large $1.00 U. S. revenue, perfora- tion gauge, millimetre scale, ruler and price lists.All only 9e. ae approvals. British Colonies, etc. Large dis- counts, Fennell Stamp Co., Dept. L, Fullerton Bldg.,St. Louis Mo, China ship set, 2 The most important collector's journal is THE ALBERMARLE STAMP COLLECTOR Sample copy free, of war stamps of are entitled to ALBERMARLE STAMP CO. stamp and approval selection Europe to those who credit. Bethlehem, Pa Enclose 2¢ 25 different U. S. with 60° approvals. 10 U.S. 1902 10c¢., 10 U. S. 1908 10¢e, 10 . Documen- tary 1908-1900 10¢. 100 different U. Any of the following at 25c. each. 50 aaier ‘nt Asia, 40 different North America (no U. 8.), 40 different South America, 35 different Australia, 80° different Europe. The 5 packets for $1.00. Cc. § EIDENBERG, BEEC 7HER, ILL. Collect Foreign Copper and Nickel Coins A fascinating dignified hobby that you can ride all your life. Coins were invented about 2600 years ago and have been issued ye since. Start with the modern common ones. Lis Standard Coia Co. Dept. 7 * 6310 S. Campbell Av., Chicage € 20 Unused Stamps Free from many countries, free. Postage 2c. Mention this paper. Large album, 1é¢ List of 1000 stamps at 2c each and 1500 stamps at le. each. If possible send names 2 collectors. We buy stamps. QUAKER STAMP CO., TOLEDO, OHIO Foreign Stamps FRE Send at once for FREE pros- pectus. Get posted now for the coming Spring, Summer, Fall I pay good prices for hundreds of kinds of butter- flies, insects, for collections. Simple work with my pictures, price list, instructions Sinclair, Dealer in Insects, Dept. 79, Ocean ’ark, Callf 1920 IS RABBIT YEAR B'S MONEY fn Pure-Bred Rabbits for Meat. Furs and Breeders. We furnish profitable market \ aduable information, beautifal illustrated catalog and full particu- America’s Greatest Exhibitors, Importers and Breeders. lers 10c. | MEEK, COURT & CO. 15109 v, Madison St. CHICAGO, ILL STAMMERERS AND STUTTERERS We have the books that cure. Books used by BEST Teachers and Students). GYMNASTICS OF THE VOICE, $1.50. SPEECH HESITATION, $1.15. EDG ARS S. WERNER & CO., 43 East 19th St., N. Y. City Lincoln Club” 100 SCOUTS WANTED. 32!» ° extra Money during your spare time. Sell Leatherette Card Case with 100 Cards printed with Name and Address. Fasy to sell. For further particulars, apply Lincoln Novelty Co., 477 N. Goodman St.. Rochester, N. ¥ Everybody wants them erro A JAZZ MUSICAL INSTRUMENT THAT EVERYBODY CAN pul Flute and Piccolo effects played like a Slide Trombone. 5c Length 10in. ext. Range 2 octaves, AGENTS WANTED A STEWART NOVELTIES, LTD., 321 WEST 48THST., NEW yoR' aseeaa 232:

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The Boy Scouts’ Magazine ORDER BY MAIL Shelled Popcorn in Car- tons for Home Popping Two 5-lb. cartons are enclosed in a 10-lb. shipping case. 10 Ib fe nr Ey $1.50 10 Ibs. Japanese Hulle ~ ee eee ee $2.70 Shipped prepaid in U. A. east of Rocky Mts. Information rt the Customer a most healthful food for espe¢ially children. Good popeorn for home popping is difficult to obtain To meet this condition we have high quality varieties and used care- Popcorn is people of all ages, selected ful methods of growing and curing that se- cures a high popping percentage. In passing through the usual long channels of trade popcorn is frequently damaged. Our popeorn is packed fresh and shipped direct to you. It will satisfy and please you. “White Rice Popcorn, the commonly known popeorn of this country is good, but is being displaced by Japanese Hulless popcorn where appreciated Japanese Hulless costs quality Is : about twice the bulk per pound more but pops ; and is much more tender and delicious than White Rice. We have both but recommend Japanese Hulless to our customers. FROM Five Bros. Popcorn Co. AMES, IOWA Packed Fresh, Shipped Direct to You. Send check, bank draft, or money order. Reference: Union National Bank, Ames, Ia. Popcorn Stand Operators Write for Quantity Price The Rudolph Spiral Puttee Serviceable Dressy Comfortable The Ideal Puttee for Boy Scouts They add snap and distinctiveness to the uniform,

Keep your legs warm and dry; espe- cially suitable for Hiking, Skating, Cycling, Hunting, Trapping, and all other outdoor sports MADE ESPECIALLY FOR BOYS All Wool—Color, Olive Drab 2% yd. Length, $1.50 2 yd. Length, 1.35 If not obtainable at your dealer, send us his name with your order and we will supply you direct. M. RUDOLPH 54 West Lake St. Chicago, IIl. a> 90 to 125 LZ Miles on

of Gasoline! The Shaw Motorbicycle. A high-grade, easy running, speedy motorbicycle of dependable power at a saving of from a third to a half in actual money. Equipped with 2% H-P Motor, famous Breeze carburetor, high tension magneto. Automatic lubrication. Chain drive. Simple, efficient control at all times. Thousands in use. Write today for prices and terms, also about the Shaw Attachment—fits any old bike, SHAW MANUFACTURING CO. Dept. 364, GALESBURG, KANS.

‘Ask Anyone Who Has Used It” What Our Patrons Say “T have never ha’ to find fault with them in five years’ use.” (Name on Re que St.) Catalogue “L” sent for 4c

postage BRANDES WIRELESS HEADSETS Brandes Wireless Headset sent to you TRIAL on trial for 10 days If OFFER yon are dissatisned, back Testiz —/or clearness, " yourself the quality, the “maiched tone.” Thetwo diaphragms, toned exactly alike, strengthen the signals and prevent hlurring. Used by many U. S. Government experts, and experts abroad; by colleges and technical schools; and by professionals and amateurs everywhere C. BRANDES Inc.. 32 Union Sq., New York, Room 816 WIRELESS RECEIVER SPECIALISTS Alieeerneninitiatentnnaaa sntanaggieneiinasisnntaneaarsiaenenaan If you stammer, attend no stammering school till you get my big new FREE book and special rate. Largest and most successful school in the world, curing all forms of defective speech by advanced natural method. Write today. North-Western School for Stammerers, Inc. 2328 Grand Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. for any reason, comes your money compare vidith others distance. Prove jor without a question sensitiveness, fine

station door, and was perturbed at the effect the narration had on Curtis. “But what could he do*” he asked, as the

tall man gave vent to an anxious exclama- tion. “What could any of them do—now?” “Oh, I don't know,” returned Curtis im- patiently. “Nothing, perhaps. Hang the skunk that put that bullet into me! If I was only able-bodied, I wouldn't fret like this. As it is I'm only half a man, and ‘ Just then a bump told them that the train jhad backed into the siding, and a few minutes later they began to glide slowly away from the station, FTER supper Berkeley and their host re- turned at once to: the manuscripts, while the others made themselves comfortable in the big chairs. It was quite dark by this time, but by pressing his face against the window pane and shielding his eyes from the light, Curly saw that they had left the flat plains around Yampa and were passing through a wild, rough bit of country. He dropped his head back against the cushion and presently, lulled by the motion of the train, began to nod. Suddenly, without a warning, there was the train nearly and he was brakes, that a jar, a grinding of stopped so suddenly

thrown from his chair. “What’s that?’ exclaimed the colonel sharply, dropping the book he held. For an instant there was deathlike still- ness as they all listened, Then a _ single pistol shot rang out, followed by two others in swift succession. The firing came from the front of the train, and scarcely had the | last one sounded, when they heard the thud | of many feet pad by the side of their car. “Held up!” cried Curtis, snatching a Colt from the chair beside him. “Quick, Curly! Don't let ’em cut us off from the train. Run forward and guard the coupling. Send the men back here.” As the boy leaped up and started for the door, there came a crashing of glass in the rear of the compartment. As he dashed into the next compartment he found the men on their feet hesitating, | most of them with rifles or revolvers in their | hands. “Train robbers!” Curly cried, “GO back | and help hold ’em off. Four of you come this way.” Ile ran through the narrow passage lead- ing to the kitchen on to the door at the for- ward end of the car. To his relief the plat- form was empty. Then came a tramp of feet and a gruff voice said: “Here she is, boys. Git that pin out an’ start the rest of the train off.” Someone scrambled up on the platform and Curly shouted a warning: “Keep off or I'll put a bullet through you.” For a moment there was silence, Then came the crack of revolvers and the sound the woodwork above was crouching on the floor of bullets splintering Curly’s head. He

| from a just inside the doorway, and without turn- ing his head he whispered a warning to the | men he thought behind him: { “Duck, fellows !”’ | HERE was no answer, and looking swiftly around he saw to his horror that there was no one there, Apparently they had misunderstood his directions, and he was alone to face an unknown number of desperadoes, each determined to do the thing which he must at all hazards prevent, Fortunately he was not kept long in nerve- wracking suspense, <A swift glance toward the platform showed him an arm reaching stealthily around from the steps. <As_ the fingers felt the coupling, he promptly took aim and _ fired, A yell of pain followed and the arm hastily withdrawn, Then he heard the to the kitchen behind him softly open. “Is that you, George?” he whispered. *‘Yesser, Marse Curly. You kill one?” “No, only winged him. Listen, George. Run back to the car and bring three or four men out here. They’re trying to cut us off from the train. Quick, now! Ive only got five shots left.” “Yessir; all right, The steward had scarcely down the passage when there of hammering from underneath form. The men were evidently remove the coupling from beneath, so placed the barrel of his Colt flooring and fired twice in quick At once the pounding ceased and a rattling volley of shots followed. The bullets thud ded into woodwork and glanced off the brass railing, but Curly, huddled into the corner, escaped, Suddenly, with a crash, the mirror in the paneling behind him was. sattered and the glass showered down, cutting his face and hands in sever€l places. Swift on the heels of this volley, came a rush of men up the steps on both sides of the car. As the first one appeared, Curly fired and the fellow toppled back, enrrying several others with him. Then a trickle of blood cut over one eye must have mo- mentarily blinded him, for his two remain- | ing shots apparently had no _ effect. Two | of the outlaws gained the platform, and with | left for was door sir.” slipped away came the sound the plat- trying to Curly the succession. close to

. W.L. DOUGLAS WAS PERMITTED OCCASIONALLY HE HAD TO FACE TOATTEND SCHOOL FOR SHORT PUNISHMENT FOR TARDINESS PERIODS DURING THE WINTER BECAUSE HE WAS KEPT AT THE MONTHS WHEN THERE WERE \ 4 i =. WORK BENCH PEGGING SHOCS SLACK SPELLS IN THE WORK UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE

FOR MEN AND WOMEN

$7:00 $g.00 759.00 g $10:°° SHOES W. L. Douglas shoes are sold through 107 of our own stores direct to the wearer at one profit. All middlemen’s and manufacturing profits are eliminated. W. L. Douglas $9.00 and $10.00 shoes are absolutely the best shoe values for the money in this country. W.L.Douglas name and the retail price stamped on the bottom guarantees the best shoes in style, comfort and service that can be produced for the price. tamping the price on every pair of T= quality of W. L. Douglas product is shoes as a protection —- high guaranteed by more than 40 years prices and unreasonable profits is only experience in making fine shoes. The smart one example of the constant endeavor styles are the leaders in the fashion centers of W. L. Douglas to protect his custom- of America. They are made in a well- ers. W. L. Douglas name on shoes is equipped factory at Brockton, Mass., by his pledge that they are the best in the highest paid, skilled shoemakers, materials, workmanship and style pos- under the direction and supervision of ex- sible to produce at the price. Into perienced men, all working with an honest every pair go the results of sixty-seven determination to make the best shoes for years experience in making shoes, the price that moneycanbuy. The retail dating back to the time when W. L. prices are the same everywhere. They Douglas was a lad of seven, pegging cost no more in San Francisco than they shoes. do in New York. W. 1. Douglas shoes are for sale by over 9000 shoe dealers besides our own stores. If your local dealer cannot supply you, take noother make. Order direct from the factory. Send for booklet telling how to agent Wo by mail, postage free. CAUTION.—Insist upon having W. Peete. “Gonitenee Douglas shoes. The name and price a plainly LL 188 “STARK STREET. be . 8 stamped onthe sole. If it has been achanged or mutilated, BEWARE OF FRA BROOK :

BOYS EARN MONEY GETTING SUBSCRIPTIONS TO

S’ MAGAZINE THE BOY SCOU! Do you want $2.00 cash in your pocket? Yes, real money, given you in exchange for a little of your spare time. It’s a cinch, fellows. What do you say? Are you on? SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION. BLANK BOYS’ LIFE, 200 5th Avenue, New York, N. Y. GENTLEMEN! Enclosed please find $6.00 to pay for 3 subscriptions to be sent to the persons whose names are below and for which send me the $2.00 in cash as stated above. re en ee eee ee eee ee eee eee By a A) a i PR Ol ete Brent ase RA se Don ere C0. FS sobs bbi sd orh dea KAcenepaadonetan PURO ca ao Secs tee ew cha ie er inet Ata aee a ac acne aes Rens Re a eS RATS PRR eo. 5 asin Laon cedantah nei uaees aia tororetee tye eee TOA COD TES cinctvdd onetkveneat.cs0 dus aGncks teas MERU Bis is aris Sint caree De tiasdd-ae wale a Se eee aS Canadian Postage 25 cents. Foreign Postage 50 cents extra

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60 Look Alive, Scouts! Follow the lead of boys who know Firestones. They get most miles per dollar because Firestones are made strong and long-wearing for scouts who use their bikes hard for work or play. **Look alive,”’ scouts, when you need tires. Go see the Firestone dealer. He will show you the handsome Fire- stones in black, red, and gray, with non-skid treads just like the famous Firestone auto tires. They are priced according to your needs. FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER CO. Firestone Park Akron, Ohio rs Everywhere Branches and Deale BSA * capable of serious shooting. nition in a very little while. garden or the woods. Mfg. by B. 8. A. GUNS, Ltd., » Distributors for PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT CO., Dept. anadian Distributors: FRASER ¢ 0. 10 Hospital St., A Nothing Better for the Skilled Marksman to Keep in Practice at Home Splendid fun for old or young, boys and girls alike in home, Bir mingham, England i ‘Niadison Ave., N.Y. Montreal, Canada RIFLE -177 and .22 Cal. Mfd. by Birmingham Small Arms Co. A safe and serious rifled weapon, as indestructible as the Springfield, As Accurate as Any .22 Cartridge Rifle Because of its noiseless, smokeless qualities, you can set up a target right in the back yard, and spend many profitable hours improving your markmanship. iV A boon to nervous parents with boys who MUST shoot. Shoots the CHEAPEST AMMUNITION shot by any weapon Saves its first cost over the cheapest cartridge rifle in ammu- \BSA, | of gold sinking ) himself his two sensa- facing | hands | | ! | | and a_ sick, Curly found nothing save Colt. a gasp of horror tion within him, the crowd with and an empty, useless XXV DREAMS CHAPTER RicHES BEYOND and Curly | big burly | flung the | face and time to think, pure instinct. As a dive for him, he heavy revolver straight into his | darted back into the passage behind him. An instant later he collided heavily with someone hastening down it, and realized that reinforcements were at hand. ‘Keep them off the platform!” he shouted. “They're trying to uncouple the car.” Without a word the men opened fire and a second or two later the platform was empty. “You were just in time,” panted Curly. “I'd fired my last shot. You fellows stay here and don’t let them get near that coup- ling. If they cut us off from the train we're dished. I’m going back to get some shells.” He hurried down the passage and dashing through the middle compartment, opened the further door and peered in. The place looked as if a cyclone had struck it. The door at the further end had been smashed in and swung on one hinge. The floor was strewn with broken glass, and across the doorway lay the body of a man, Evidently at least one attack had been suc- cessfully repulsed. Curly’s anxious glance the compartment for his sister a sigh of relief as he saw HERE acted by ruffian made a was no swiftly searched and he gave her, crouched behind the desk, a Winchester in her hands The chairs, sofa and other portables had been dragged across the middle of the car to form a barricade behind which the be sieged lay entrenched. Right in front of him Curly could make out Homer stuffing shells into his Colt, the blood trickling down one side of his face from a gash in his head. A little to the right lay Curtis watchfully eyeing the door, while the Colonel, Berkeley and half a dozen men were huddled down in various postures, He was about to join them when volley of bullets came from the lowed by a rush ‘of feet. The next instant a man shot through the narrow doorway followed closely by a crowd of others. He went down like a log and with a thrill Curly saw, directly behind him, the evil, brutal countenance of Bull Henger. Forget- ting that it was empty, he jerked up his Colt and pulled the trigger. But as the empty click sounded, there was a streak of flame from Curtis's revolver, and Henger flung up both hands, spun half way around and then fell face downward upon the pile which lay stacked in the corner. a sudden rear, fol ISMAYED by the fall of their leader. the men behind him wavered. Then all at once there came a shriek from the motive, and to the amazement of them all the train began to move slowly forward. Instantly swift panic the despera- Cursing, fighting and clawing one another in their haste to escape from the moving train, they plunged through the ves loco seized does, tibule, and in a second or two not a sign of them was left, save the two bodies across the doorway and that of the murderous leader, motionless on the pile of bags, his fingers clutching at the gold he had com mitted so many crimes to gain. Two of the men had been wounded, one seriously, and needed attention at once. Also several others of the party had been cut by broken glass, to say nothing of the bullet graze in Homer's forehead. So everyone pitched in with antiseptics and bandages, and it was not until the conductor appeared fifteen or twenty minutes later that they heard the details‘ of the puzzling business. It appeared that the train had _ been stopped by a pile of logs across the track. The engineer only escaped smashing into them by a sudden application of the emergency brakes, and instantly he and the firemen were seized and bound by the des peradoes, who must have numbered at least thirty. They were left under the guard of four outlaws, while the remainder of the band hurried back to the rear of the train. waged so fiercely back to lend a Presently the fight there that two of the guards went hand, probably thinking the other two quite sufficient to hold the And so they would have ordinary run of passengers, who come abnormally cautious unde ditions. It happened, however, were two miners in the forward had a quantity of gold in the and were naturally alarmed They slipped out of the rear ear, and, crawling fnderneath, worked their way forward until they got the drop on the | outlaws. Then, without any compunction o1 delay, they shot them. engine, with the usually be such that there who ear been econ coach express as to its safety. door of their | fireman were at engineer and | four men, aided by | | -_ i leased and the the conductor, dragged the while the fight was going on in once logs off the track the rear, BOYS’ LIFE LOCKHART PUTTEES Patented The Genuine For All Military Spiral (All Wool) Puttee and Sport Wear Madein U.S. A. Any Climate Spirals Are Regulation! (Note: S. R. No. 42 U. S. Army) “REGULAR” Men’s “SCOUT” Boys’ Write for name nearest dealer. LOCKHART SPIRAL SERVICE LEGGINGS, Inc. 244 Broadway, Brooklyn, N. Y. Manufacturers to Domestic and Foreign Govern. ments, Military Schools and Boys’ Organizations INSTRUCTION Quick results assured by our practical method. Patriotic, religious and popular music taught scout troops and boys’ clubs. Particulars and sample lesson free to scout masters upon application. Smith & Kelow System 1419 Cleveland Ave. Chicago, Ill, Send for Our New Catalog J-29 Send for a copy NOW It fs pocket size. contains 264 pages. with over 1.100 illustrations and describes in plain. clear language all about Bells, Push Buttons, Bat- teries, Telephone and Tele- graph Material, Electric Toys, Burgiar and Fire Alarm Contrivances, Electric Call Bells, Electric Alarm Clocks, Medical Batteries, Electri- cally Heated Apparatus, Battery Connectors, Switches, Battery Gauges, Wireless Telegraph Instru- — ignition Supplies, MANHATTAN ELECTRICAL SUPPLY aur Inc. St. Louis; 6 Pine St. Chi 114 S. We sis St San Francisco Office: 604 Mission st. “I Want Only a Taylor Compass!” NSIST on that name when- ever you buy acompuass. 1 hen you'll iknow you’re getting @ dependable guide that will i.di cate the shortest way to home and grub in unfamiliar country. Nine different styles—frem $1.00 to $3.50. If your dealer cannot supply you, remit direct to us. Prices in Canada and West of the Mississippi higher. Booklet - Guidepo sto the nt for 10 cents in stamps. Taylor Instrument Companies Rochester, N.Y. There's a Tyces or Talor Thermo- meter for every pur Big Band Catalog sent free Whotever 7we asee~ from a dramatic to cod sic slores everywhere. LYON & HEALY 59-71 JACKSON BOULEVARD, CHICAGO electric: ai. rope, aif Pp lane, piano pipe- organ. flat, hoops, bale-ties, tacks, nails, barbed-wire, concrete — re-infvrce- ment, springs, net- ting, wire fences, steel posts, trolley-road wires and rail bonds, wire wheels, auto-towing cables, horse-shoes. Illustrated Books Describing Uses, FREE Fackes, V.P. & G. S.A. American Steel & Wire Co. '**s.};?£¢ Yeu can be quickly cured, if you STAMMER Send 10 cents coin or stamps for70-page book on Stam- mering and Stuttering, “Its Cause and Cure.” It tells how! cured myseif after stammering for 20 years. Benjamin N. Bogue, 115 Bogue Building, Indianapolie YVIIM

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LL os ee vu al Se rliM The Boy Scouts’ Magazine Here’s sport! Take a Handy Oil Can of 3-in- | One andoileach § roller of your skates. Now you'll sail! 3-in-One Oil is ideal for roller skates and bicycles. Eases up friction. Never dries out, gums or gath- ers dust. Good for ice skates to prevent rust. Finefor guns, fishing reels and pocket knives Keeps ball mitts soft and ripless Sold at all good stores in 1 oz., 3 oz. and 8 oz. bottles; also in 3 oz. Handy Oil Cans. FREE—Sample and Dictionary of Uses. Three-in-One Oil Co., 165 ELG. B’way, N.Y. Old Town Canoes An “Old Town Canoe”’ willjump at the thrust, or glide at the dip of a paddle. Floats light as a fleck of foam, but every “*Old Town” has the built-in strength and sturdiness to withstand many years of rugged service. For the youngsters, buy the *“‘Sponson Model’’ the canoe that’s safer than a row boat. Write forcatalog. 3000 canoesin stock. $67.00 up from dealer or factory. OLD TOWN CANOE COMPANY 994 Middle St., Old Town, Maine, U.S. A. PLUM The Official Boy Scout Axe This year be equipped right. The Plumb Scout Axe is made of one piece steel, tem— pered by our special armor plate heat treatment. Holds its edge; perfectly bal- anced. Has nail-~ pulling slot. Axe alone, $1.50 Axe with leather sheath, $2.00 At hardware stores everywhere. FAYETTE R. PLUME, INC. Philadelphia, Pa. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING An intensive three year course here will secure you the Bachelor of Science Degree. 72 foremost engi- neers and specialists will train you in big modern laboratories. We will help you to quickly make up any credits you may lack in our Institute of Elec- trotechnics. ** Earn-While-You-Learn ”” thru systematic part-time employment. Short courses also open in Practical Electricity, Drafting, Armature Winding, Automotive Elec- trotechnics, Storage Batteries. SPRING TERM OPENS APRIL 1 Send todny for catalog and details, Mention age, education and course of interest. School of Engineering of Milwaukee 178-373 Broadway, Milwaukee, Wis. Marble’s Waterproof Matchbox keeps matches dry, holds enough for several days; absolutely waterproof. Made of seamless brass, size of a ten gauge shell. 55¢e. at your dealers or sent by mail, postpaid. Write for catalog of Marble’s Sixty Specialties for Sportsmen. MFG. CO. { MARBLE ARMS 5092 Delta Avenue Gladstone, Mich. BOY SCOUT ENTERTAINMENTS easily prepared from our catalog of Drills, Songs, Exercises, etc. GET THE NEW SCOUT SONG “ Hello, Roys, Are You Hiking Today?’ It’s ahummer. Price 25 cts. Send for Free Catalog. The Eldridge Entertainment House Franklin, Ohio also Denver, Colorado, 305-307 Mercantile Bldg. Plays, | The way clear, the engineer promptly opened his throttle and started ahead. The train pulled into Sunset City about one o’clock, and a young doctor was routed out to attend to the wounded men. The sheriff was aroused and given an ac- count of the hold-up, and at the same time the bodies of the three outlaws were left in his charge. Then, after a considerable delay, the journey east was resumed. The remainder of the trip was uneventful, though far from tedious. For the first time they were able to settle down calmly and without fear of interruption make a thorough examination of the treasure, A number of curious and valuable articles turned up which had been overlooked in also the haste of removal, chief amongst which were the jars of emeralds and pearls men- document, the bottom of the tioned in the Aztec These were discovered at chest underneath the manuscripts. They were of gold; beautifully chased and orna- mented, and the jewels surpassed anything the men had ever seen. T THE New York terminal two closed trucks, summoned by telegraph, awaited them. One took the bar gold to the Assay Office to be weighed, valued and deposited to Colonel Vandergrift’s credit. The other conveyed the remainder of the treasure, to- gether with the personal belongings of the entire party, to the colonel’s house, It was here, forty-eight hours later, that a momentous conference took place. Colonel Vandergrift and the six companions in ad- venture made up the body, and their object was to decide on the division of the Aztec treasure. The colonel was unanimously voted the chair and briskly took it. “T have here,’ he said, drawing from his pocket a narrow slip of paper, ‘‘a certificate of deposit from the Assay Office of gold to the amount of $2,632,794. This is the value of the bar gold alone, and it comes to slightly more -than we estimated it on the train. It will take at least a week longer to value the emeralds and pearls. The ex- pert who has them in hand tells me that they are enormously valuable, and advises our selling them over a period of at least a year, so that the market price will not be disturbed. “Now the division of this treasure is going to be somewhat complicated. I think you will agree that I am entitled to a fair share of the find. I acknowledge that when Berke- ley went out for me I had no thought of anything like this. At the same time, I did finance the expedition, and without it the treasure might never have been found.” “Of course, colonel,” agreed 3erkeley. “You ought to have a big share of it. I think we're all agreed on that.” There was a murmur of acquiescence and the colonel smiled. “On the other hand,” he went on quickly, “we mustn‘t lose sight of the fact that those papers and all they represented were given to Graham, here. So his claim is equal to, or greater, than mine.” “Oh, no, colonel!’ protested Curly. “y- °° “Just a moment, Curly,” put in the older man. “I want to offer a suggestion. You all know, perhaps, that I have more money than I know what to do with. I don't in the least hanker for any of the two and a half million. But I do very much want that wonderful collection of relics of an ancient people—those golden idols and the chest of manuscripts. Now, if you will give me these us my share, I will gladly forego any claim on the larger amount of gold, as well as the emeralds and pearls. What do you say?” HERE could be no doubt as to the feel- ing of the others. They seemed to think, in fact, that the coloned was not taking enough. As a matter of fact, as Curly said, had it not been for their opportune meeting with the expedition headed by Berkeley, three of them might not have escaped with their lives, much less the key to the treasure. Colonel Vandergrift, however, brushed aside this suggestion, and after thanking them, took up the question of dividing the remainder. It was unanimously agreed that Curly ought to have a larger share than the others. Then Curtis suggested that the colonel outline what he thought would be a just and reasonable system of division. Finally, after considerable discussion, the following schedule was adopted: The treasure was divided into twelve shares, of which Curly was to have five, Berkeley and Jack Curtis two each, and the others one. Each share represented a value of over two hundred thousand dollars, with a large additional amount to be derived from the sale of the jewels. Naturally the six companions had speculated from time to time on what would come to them, but it was all more or less vague hazarding. Consequently, when the amount was read out in actual, concrete dollars, the effect was stunning. Jim Ruppert, who in all his life had never had much more than enough to get along on, was dazed and silent. Curtis sat staring into the street, with flushed face and absent 61 CORBIN DUPLEX COASTER BRAKE RELIABILITY is the Corbin’s Middle Name ! It’s built “ husky ” to stand rough emergency usage. You press the pedals slightly—a gradual, joltless, jarless slowdown follows. A little harder, and a quick, full stop results, without wear or tear on your bicycle. And how smooth it is in operation—you ride one-third of the way and coast two-thirds! Your new wheel may be one of the few not yet Corbin equipped. Ask your dealer to put one on and insist on getting it. Send for Catalog. FREE Fred St. Onge’s new book on the bicycle—how to ride it, how to do plain and fancy trick riding, etc. A mine of valuable, practical information. Sent on request. CORBIN SCREW CORPORATION American Hardware Corporation, Successor NEW BRITAIN, CONN. New York Philadelphia Makers of Corbin Duplex and Two-Speed Coaster Brakes and Corbin-Brown Speedometers. Branches: Chicago Complete Musical Outfits" On Trial eee es eee reece oun beeen Oaths lqctetes case, music rack, all accessories, instruction book, etc, at factory prices. A tremendous saving. se Convenient Monthly Payments After trial return outfit at our expense if you wish. If youdecidetobuy we may pay the low direct price in small monthly amounts. urlitzer for 60 years has meant highest quality. Send this Coupon Tae Rudpioh Mizz Co 7 = We'll send you f; d_ with i Wor- P 2th g litser iov-page illustrated ‘catalog. Mail the coupon. 117 E. 4th St., Cinemnat, Obio " ‘ The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. Dept. 1644, 829 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. ell B. 4th St., Cincinnati-S. Wabash Ave., Chicagu Send free your 260-pagecstsiog wi full details of complete musi op easy terms. _ WoruIzeR (2.52

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\4 oes 1t laste so Goo é y HY does Beech-Nut Peanut Butter spread on bread, crackers or toast, go right to the *‘spot’? when you are hungry? Answer: For the same reason that roasted peanuts, fresh from the peanut man, always taste so good that you can’t stop eating until you have finished the bag. Beech-Nut Peanut Butter is just fresh roasted peanuts—ground into butter —a smooth creamy butter, free from grit or any bitter taste. It’s good for you, too. Ask your mother to get a jar today, but be sure it’s Leec/:-Nut brand—the kind that always tastes so good, Beecu-NutT PackinGc COMPANY, CANAJOHARIE, NEW YORK **Foods of Finest Flavor’

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The Boy Scouts’ Magazine Build Your Own PHONOGRAPH Afew hours interesting work saves many dollars and gives you a machine exactly to suit your ideals. We furnish motors, tone arms, case material, blue prints and full in- structions. Plays any record. You can make fine profit building phonographs for your friends. Write Today for Our Free Blue Print Offer Agents wanted for our ready built phonographs Choraleon Phorograph Co. RLige “4 438 Choraleon Bidg., Elkhart, Ind. = |F ™) Publishes > yl cash art ase a ae} 326 Signments ic ™) MAGAZINE lessons and ¢ articles on Cartooning, Designing, Illus trating, Lettering and Chalk-Talking. Criticises amateurs’ work, Full of in- formation for artists and art students. y Satisfactory or money refunded. 10c a copy, $1 a year. Send $1 NOW, Thrift Stamps Taken G.H.LOCKWOOD, Editor, Dept. 576 Kalamazoo, Mich.

é ae LO of eh Catch Fish Eels, Mink, Muskrats and other fur-bearing animals 3 in large numbers, with the New, Folding, Galvanized Steel catches them li Wire Trap. It like a fly-trap catches flies. Madein allsizes. Write for descriptive price list, and free booklet on best bait known for attracting all kinds offish, J.F.Gregory, Dept, 247 Lebanon, Mo. FREE nd us your name and address for full informati regarding the Aviation and Airplane business. ‘Find out about the many great opportunities now open and ow we prepare you at home, during spare time, to qualify. Ournew book “Opportunities in the Airplane dustry’’ also sent free if you answer at once, AMERICAN SCHOOL OF AVIATION Dept 8084 4315S. LearbornSt, CHICAGO

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| Gilverhorns | 2 (Concluded from page 11) ST earth, swinging his huge head from side to side and grunting at each step. “ You we were just in the the woods, strung along the south end the pond, Billy nearest the west shore, where the moose was walking, McDonald next, and I last. It was a fool arrange ment, but we had no time to think about it. McDonald whispered that I should wait until the moose came close to us and stopped, So I waited. The nearer he came the bigger his horns looked; each palm was like an enormous silver fish-fork with twenty prongs. Then he went out of my sight for a minute as he passed around a little bay in the southwest corner, getting nearer and nearer to Billy. But I could still hear his of of see, edge steps distinctly—slosh, slosh, slosh—thud, thud, thud (the grunting had_ stopped)- closer came the sound, until it was directly behind the dense green branches of a fallen balsam-tree, not twenty feet away from Billy. Then suddenly the noise ceased. Of Silver- horns not hair nor hide was visible. It looked as if he must be a Boojum, and had the power to ‘Softly and silently vanish away.’ “Billy and Mac were beckoning to me fiercely and pointing to the green balsam- top. I gripped my rifle and started to creep tgward them. A little twig, about as thick as the tip of a fishing rod, cracked under my knee, There was a terrible crash behind the balsam, a plunging through the under- brush and a rattling among the branches, a lumbering gallop up the hill through the forest, and Silverhorns was gone. “He had stopped behind the tree because he smelled the grease on Billy’s boots. As he stood there, hesitating, Billy and Mac could see his shoulder and his side through a gap in the branches—a dead-easy shot. But so far as I was concerned, he might as Well have been in Alaska.” * * * * * * * * * “ All abooard!” The conductor’s shout rang along the platform. * Line’s clear,”’ exclaimed McLeod, rising. “Noo we'll be off! Wull ye stay here wi’ me, or gang awa’ back to yer bed?” “ Here,” answered Hemenway. N the wide level barrens beyond the Tete- a-Gouche River the locomotive reached its best speed, purring like a huge cat and running smoothly. McLeod leaned back on his bench with a satisfied air. “She's doin’ fine, the nicht,” said he. “Ah'm thinkin’, while, o’ yer aul Seelver- horrns. Whaur is he noo? Ye’re no sorry that he’s leevin yet, are ye, Dud?” “Well,” answered Hemenway slowly, be- tween the puffs of his pipe, “I can’t say I'm sorry that he’s alive and happy, though I’m not glad that I lost him. But he did his best, the old rogue; he played a good game, and he deserved to win.” ‘““What’s yon?” cried up. Far ahead, in the narrow apex of the converging rails, stood a black form, motion- less, mysterious. McLeod grasped the whistle- cord, The black form loomed higher in the moonlight and was clearly silhouetted against the horizon—a big moose standing across the track. They could see his grotesque head, his shadowy horns, high, sloping shoulders. The engineer pulled the cord. The whistle shrieked loud and long. The moose turned and faced the sound, The glare of the headlight fascinated, chal- lenged, angered him. There he stood defiant, front feet planted wide apart, head lowered, gazing steadily at the unknown enemy that was rushing toward him. He was the mon- arch of the wilderness. He would not move. McLeod, springing He would try his strength against this big yellow-eyed beast. *Losh!” cried McLeod: “he’s gaun’ to fecht us!” and he dropped the cord, grabbed the levers, and threw the steam off and the brakes on hard. The heavy train slid groan- ing and jarring along the track. The moose never stirred. The fire smouldered in his small narrow eyes. His black crest was bristling. As the engine bore down upon him, not a rod away, he reared high in the air, his antlers flashing in the blaze, and struck full at the headlight with his im- mense fore feet. There was a shattering of glass, a crash, a heavy shock, and the train slid on through the darkness, Thirty or forty yards beyond the engine ame to a stop. The moose was lying in the ditch beside the track, stone dead and fright- fully shattered. But the great head and vast, spreading antlers were intact. Seelver-horrns, sure enough!” Leod, bending over him. ‘ Weel, ye glad? Ye hae killt yer first moose “Yes,” said Hemenway, “it’s my first moose. But it’s your first moose, too. And I think it’s our last. Ye gods, what a fighter!” said Mce- Dud, are ”

| - early, and then—over the hills and far away—the green fields, the swim- min’ hole, the whole wide world bright and sunshiny — riding, riding, riding on the Columbia, the same easy-going standby that your daddy rode—maybe still rides. “Standard of the World”? means what it says when applied to the Columbia. A visit to your local dealer and an inspection of the Columpias will give you a clear idea of what’s what in 1920 bicycle values. The models provide a mount for everybody, each model being priced as reasonably as a high- grade bicycle can be sold for. Send for 1920 Columbia Catalog. See your dealer and pick out your model today. Westfield Manufacturing Co. 39 Lozier Ave., Westfield, Mass.

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64 BOYS’ LIFE a New York Life Insurance Co. (Ine yr por ited und The laz US of the Stat Le N ew ¥, ork 346 & 348 Broadway, New York, N. Y. TO THE POLICY-HOLDERS: Life Insurance has suddenly taken on a new importance. Everybody wants it. This indicates that the publie has begun to understand the economie value of the principle on which life insurance rests, and it also demonstrates the high regard in which our life companies are held. } But Do You Realize: Just a Word About Those Queries: ] Ist. That for the mere privilege of rendering this economic 1) A life insurance premium is essentially a tax, voluntarily service our life companies will be taxed in 1920 (between levied, primarily for the protection of the family, but very the States and the Federal Government) upwards of directly for the benefit of the state. The government, in $27,000,000? taxing life insurance, indulges in the barbarism of taxing a tax. It would be scarcely more unsound for the government 2d. That Federal laws are purposely so framed that the use of : . to tax its own Income. life insurance to protect estates is not encouraged. Imme- diately following death the Federal Government exacts 2 heavy cash payments whatever the character of the estate. Without life insurance such payments are always difficult and sometimes impossible ? Death Duties can readily destroy a perfectly solvent estate unless cash can be raised quickly. Life insurance can quickly provide cash, but the laws limit and hinder its use. i) 3d. That the proceeds of life insurance must under the Federal The States also collect heavy death duties on insurance law be included in the decedent’s estate and taxed accord- payable to estates. ingly—unless payable to named beneficiaries; in that case such proceeds are exempt up to $40,000? All these taxes are in addition to the $27,000,000 of taxes referred to in the first query; they are economically un- sound and silly. [ speak of them because with your present keen interest in life insurance it is time that your representatives at Wash- ington and in your State Capital heard from vou. THE YEAR 1919. For the New York Life 1919 was in many respects the greatest year in its history. Our new business ($531,000,000) exceeded the new business in any previous year by nearly $200,000,000. Our new business was written exclusively on the lives of individuals who made application to the Company and does not include any so-called Group insurance. : Our Mortality returned to normal figures, after the heavy mortality from influenza in 1918, which extended through the first four months of 1919. The Russian Soviet Government by decree made life insurance a government monopoly in Russia and proceeded to liquidate the business of all life insurance companies, both domestic and foreign. Having by this decree assumed our liabil- ities the government took possession of our property in Russia, including our investments which were chiefly railroad bonds guaranteed by the Russian Government, and purchased with moneys accumulated from premiums paid by Russian policy-holders. y With the concurrence of the Superintendent of Insurance of the State of New York, approved by the Convention of In- surance Commissioners of the various States, we have eliminated both Russian assets and Russian liabilities from our state- ment for the year 1919. There are no material complications elsewhere in our foreign business. The decrease in assets at the end of 1919, by comparison with assets at the close of 1918, is due to the elimination of the Russian business, and to the fact that in the assets at the close of 1918 there were about $22,000,000 which we had bor- rowed to purchase Liberty Bonds. Taking account of these ite ms, the assets in 1919 made a normal increase. Safety funds increased during the year over $5,000,000. On December 31, our investments in Liberty Bonds and Victory Notes exceeded $100,000,000. DARWIN P. KINGSLEY, President. Balance ‘Sheet, “January 1, | 1, 1920 ASSETS LIABILITIES Real Estate. $9,070,481.00 Policy Reserve. . $757,098,302.00 Loans on Mortgages 159,869,677.31 Other Policy Liabilities ; 24,398,333.52 Loans on Policies 145,185,934.77 Premiums, Interest and Rentals unpaid 4,360,124.68 Loans on Collateral 159,000.00 Taxes, Salaries, Rentals, Accounts, etc 4,991,560.94 Liberty Bonds and Victory Notes. . 100,605,626.80 Additional Reserves 6,072,091.44 Govt., State, County and Municipal Bonds.. 147 ,363,654.60 Dividends payable in 1920.. 32,045,775.56 Railroad Bonds.. 344,053,661.96 Reserve for Deferred Dividends.. 88,157,964.00 Miscellaneous Bonds and Stock 8,339,274.69 Reserves, special or surplus funds not included Cash 20,501,542.64 a Reha eRe FR Tier REMY ands 43,897,967.91 Uncollected and Deferred Premiums 13,993,352.96 Interest and Rents due and accrued 11,849,389.88 Premiums reported to War Risk Insurance Bureau under Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act 30,523.44 Total $961,022,120.05 cin sceers rere $961,022,120.05 Paid Policy-holders during the year 1919 - - $116,1'74,621.00 XUM

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PUTRI ULL MTU ELL THERE ARE SEVERAL KINDS OF ONE FOR INSTANCE::- THE FELLOW FORGETTING THAT APRIL USUALLY APRIL FOOLS4 WHO SAYS HIS OLD UNIFORM WILL] HAS VERY SUDDEN AND HEAVY DO UNTIL APRIL IS OVER — SHOWERS be Sg 4 NO NEED 70 LABEL THIS FELLOW ) ‘ 7 a > a A S75 7S D* /GOOD FOR “\ ANOTHER COUPLE QF MONTHS NS \ LLG LEZ Y Ze o fo ‘ oa, _@ —_—. WITH OCCASIONAL TAG ENDS | BRINGING THINGS LIKE THIS [PREPARED WITH A NEW WEATHER OF WINTER WEATHER — TO THE FELLOW WHO IS NOT- | RESISTING EI SNER UNIFORM Fe Son! poy, LIKE THIS SCOUT ‘mM COLD A AINE MONTH a APRIL " —— ii cepecom ‘CZ ie — — ——_— = ‘ io MW) ) ABR ‘@: : Fool / |*% sal = = ~~ a =, = ee ile = ee RT TT gh, See es i en Ye , % ~~ es Are= showers are alright in their way to help make the May flowers grow but a husky growing scout doesn’t need any showers. What he does need is a uniform to cover his growing size and protect him from the showers. The uniform to 3 fit these requirements as well as fit the scout is = an official | on EISNER GUARANTEE ; ” THE COMPANY ' ‘* Be Prepared,’ Scouts ! _ The material used in the official uni- a: Established in 1884. The Sigmund form of the Boy Scouts of America has | Eisner Company has grown to be the been selected after most careful investi- | aig = ae : © a aa An argest plant in the world for the manu- gation, including thirty days’ sun test, Send for free Scout e = gh ‘ manly . fe pars and the acid and strength tests. Bo. sklet ‘6 How to facture of unt jOrms oO son Sorensen It is guaranteed by the manufacturers te ae ” ig It now comprises 33 FACTORIES IN as well as by National Headquarters Wash and Care for ALL. — —— sige a Y our UniformProp- Besides Scout Uniforms and all ading or shrinking, All guaranteed gar- amis? requisites such as BELTS, HATS, LEG- » Ss ave . “Ii sex > ) , > y eae me at s oad memes Rave the Comcis stat Of the 109 erty. GINGS, Etc., the SIGMUND EISNER Scouts of America, and cases of unsatis- OMPANY ’ factory service should be reported, with UC MI ANY makes tens of thousands a written statement of the process fol- of the OFFICIAL UNITED STATES lowed in washing. ARMY UNIFORMS. ffice, 105 Fifth Avenue, New York City Factories—Red Bank, New Jersey call m wn : THE WILLIAMS PRINTING COMPANY, NEW YORK YVIIM

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+ Sst , tie EVERY RED-BLOODED BOY is just wild to get a Ranger Motor- bike and be the agent to sell the other boys for miles around. We make it easy for you to get one. Riding around selling the other boys is fun; the minute they see your Ranger they want one too. You can have great sport forming a Ranger Bicycle troop, and being its captain. There’s no bicycle so good asa Ranger and the Ranger Motorbike is the tip-top of all 44 styles of Rangers. It is a hummer—a rip snorting king of the road, equipped with every- thing you could think of or want. OUR BIG, NEW illustrated 1920 catalog just out, shows you every one of the 44 different styles, colors and sizesof Rangers with complete description. This Bicycle Book is a complete encyclopedia of Bike information and should be in every boy’s hands. Write for it today. It gives fu// details of Factory-To-Rider Lowest Cash Price and Easy Payment Plan, as well as our Rider AGENCY, It shows you HOW Easily youcan own a Ranger. The magnificent Ranger Motorbike — or any one of the 44 splendid styles, colors and sizes—shown in the great, big Mead catalog will be sent you with all delivery charges paid by the oldest and most successful bicycle factories in the country. The minute your phon r arrives, knock off the crate, jump on and speed avoay. The Ranger Motorbike for 1920 is thec rowning ; achievement of 30 years of bicycle making. Never anywhere—at any time or at any price was there ever a bicycle tocompare ‘withit. The motorbike model has the latest, most up-to-date equipment in the world—the best that America and Europe affords See the large, handy tool box, with full tool outfit, electric battery box and electric light, double re-inforced front fork and a frame; automobile style HORN, parcel carrier behind seat, Samson red velvet guaranteed tires, quick detachable feather-light, drop-side steel mud guards, quick action motorbike stand which snaps up on the ta 1 of. the ‘nud guard when riding; cross braced handle bars—everything that makes the RANGER the best bicycle, the strongest, the longest-lived bicycle you or any one else ever rode, is furnished, Every boy will be interested in this splendid, dig, beautiful, co/orved catalog. Fill out coupon at doftom of page—it tells everything. Direct to You at Wholesale Factory Prices We ship every Ranger direct from our own big factory. We give you the savings we gain, by having no salesmen, no branch houses, no local managers, no i bbers or distributors to take extra profits. Cash or pi iyment plan. We offer you chorce of our /owest cash price—or our 9 months to PAY PLAN. ‘The easy payment plan price is s/ight/y more than the Cash Plan. But either plan, Cash or Aasy Payment—is much lower than you could get an codin 1ary good bicycle. Yet by dealing direct you get the RANGER, absolutely the finest, staunchest, best bicycle ever built. Standing back of your RANGER—guaranteeing it with all their capital, stands the oldest, the m st successful bicycle concern in America—an organization of experts devoted to the service and interest of over a million Ranger owners, We don't ask you to take our EE TRIAL 2: Ranger Bi- cycles. We want you to TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. We takeallthe risk. Send nomoney. We pay thefreight to urtown. Chooseany one of the 44 splendid styles, sizes and colors. When it comes take it out of the crate, test it! for 30 days if you want. Dectde whether you wish to keepit or not. If you find it is all and even more than we h ive Sai 1, pay the lowest cash price, or take advantage of our9 months payment plan. You above all must be sat- isfiec If you decide you don’t want to keep your Ranger, within 30 days notify us and we pay return charges. Your trial has been free—no charge for use or anything. Could any plan be squarer, more fair than that? Werisk all, you risk nothing. But.then we know that you are sguare and we know that there isn't a Zive, up-to-date boy, who won't see with HALF an eve, that there was never the bicycle that runs on two wheels that can toucha Ranger by amile. So we are glad to offer you the 30 days free trial affer, backed by a $5,000.00 cash bond deposited by us in the First National Bank of Chicago, Fill out coupontoday. You'll be glad you did. Pay From Profit Plan 78%: canup™or Kook at As eight out of ten boys pay cash for their Ranger, the , $s who do buy on our Easy 9 Months Payment plan, Say it'salalapaloozer. Just the bicycle you've wanted nas } ei th ages cee “Rate hed i to ride. It will take you anywhere—never balks or never seci that people are saying, Hu 1, he is riding on grows tired. It’s sturdy asa truck horse, and speedy as a ‘pay a little every month bicycle,’*’ because every one a race horse. It stands all sorts of work—it’s built to naturally thinks of the Ranger as the finest bicycle in go—and tolast. J?'s everlastingly good. the world, as a CASH proposition—and it generally is. Kick up the Stand, put your foot on the pedal and you're off like a shot—and “‘oh boy” isn’t that some jut sometimes a fellow c: aise = cash ¢ F, -e But sometimes a fell can't raise the cash all at once comfortable seat; you like to ride the dumps on that Pte ae could make soe ee ee and easy swinging saddle, don’t you? pegoiter ~ eer aah igh o s and Sriends age onl y bad Well, you can. Here is your chance. You can bea 1 good bicycle. Such lads benefit by our EASY PA Y- Mead Rider Agent. We have thousands all over the MENT Plan. Quite often their parents advance the country, enjoying their Ranger every day—and making first payment, letting the boys earntherest. That's money, too. why it is often called the /uy from Pratt fen. Every one owns and ridesa beautiful, graceful, speedy We have found that where there's a will there’s a way, Ranger in just the color he likes (44 styles, colors and and we know most American boys havethe WILL. So sizes to choose from). We make it easy for you to make write for the big catalog today and get all the interest- money—and owna Ranger. JUST MAIL the Coupon, ing particulars that show the way to own a Ranger. and we will explain everything. Do This Today! Don’t Fill out and send coupon /oday —today—today. Delay. The Big, Beautiful Mead Bicycle Book is worth a dollar of any one’s money, but we giveit Get = BIG BICYCLE BOOK FREE to you free, — une § ic —_ of all Ran. zer models (44 different styles and sizes) in actual colors rly and up-to-date models, gives a history of the develop- ment of the ¥.. ‘le ind things every boy should know. It shows the new “Hurry Cycle” the newest patented, quick delivery bicycle with which any bright lad can make all kinds of cash after school. Itis the most complete bicycle book ever offered free. DON'T duya bicycle tire, sundries or anything for a dicycle till you see this book. It will save you money every way. Itis truly the Bike rider's cutde. Simply write your name, fill out this coupon at right and mail it to us for your copy—it’s waiting for you. MEAD SiSt5, COMPANY WRITE TODA DON’T WAIT. Live boys everywhere will wanta Ranger this year. Don’t be left out. Hurry. Take advantage of that 30 days Free Trial offer. Satisfy yourself about the fin- est quality bicycle in the world before you decide to keep it. You will want to be our Rider Agent when you read how other boys have made good money. We will send all information free with our new 1920 Catalog—just off the press. -It tells you all about our direct-from-factory wholesale prices—cash and easy monthly payment plans; also all about our RIDER AGENTS offer to you. Pla Bit 5 cai EEE EEG Ps ee et cae ho st MEAD CYCLE COMPANY, a RA 17, @hienge, U.S.A. Gentlemen: Send me free the New Ranger Bicycle Book (The Bicycle Buyer’s Guide). With this send me special particulars of your 30 Days Free Trial Offer—your |wholesale direct Factory-to-Rider Prices—both cash and on Easy Payments with monthly terms. It is understood that I am under no obli- gation to buy a bicycle or bicycle supplies because of this request. + Name P. O. Box, R. F. D. or Street No. Town State pean C) Put an X here if you want to be a Rider Agent. PECTED ee ES Fe TRIO SSS ON SS Tt RE, ’ f F | : ' wiina