Loading...
Exeter Advocate, 1906-8-2, Page 6t. F, ,341:41:4A-40 .4)' +fit+ 4.—Xi+ c A- 4-)1 +04 +'3c '%($)+ f+• 3; AI WANG; A TALE OP SOUMERN CRNA. W ro-A -4rx+KE- i1+o+4:411+ E+A+3 +# 3 -x40 o:f+30i4 4E 43 4 CHAPTER XXVI. Everything now seemed to be about ready for the opening of the campaign. One thing only remained. This concerned the disposal of their suspicions in connection with the guide. The fact that Lord Hackett did not consider his prejudice without some foundation gave Larry additional strength, and caused him to press the question to a speedy settlement. As a consequence he suddenly con- fronted the Mongolian in a dramatic manner, hoping to catch hien una- wares, and abruptly said: "Fancy our meeting again." The heathen Chinese, taken off his guard for once, could not refrain from showing plain signs of perturbation, and Larry chose to look upon his atti- tude as most highly significant. If treachery was back of it, better that they should meet the trouble here at the start, where it could be con- trolled, than later on, when dangers surrounded them. One experience of this latter sort had been quite enough for the little man. Larry had Yearned to act promptly when an emergency threatened; no one could bask in the company of Dr. Jack for any length of time and do otherwise. He believed he had the fellow on the run„ and hastened to get in another blow. "It's an odd freak that brings us to- gether once more, nay good fellow. Suppose you let me have a fair and square look at your face. In such an undertaking as this one wishes to be quite certain of his friends, you know." His intention was evident. Indeed, if the words he uttered had failed, his belligerent attitude would have proclaimed the fact that he meant to enforce his demand. The Chinaman seemed to hesitate, and Plympton moved a little nearer, not knowing but that there might be need of his strong arm. He had seen a native, when cornered, strike out with a murderous knife, and Larry offered a tempting bait to any one thus inclined. It was quite a dramatic picture. Avis held her breath, awaiting de- velopments, and only vaguely compre- hending what it all meant, beyond the evident fact that some trouble had come upon the carpet before they were even well started on their enterprise. This element of uncertainty only lasted for a brief minute:- The inute:The Chinese guide seemed to under- stand that further secrecy was out of the question ; doubtless he realized ,that it was folly for any man to think of rubbing wits with a fellow of Larry's accomplishments ; others had tried the same thing in the past and made a failure. At any rate, he suddenly turned his face toward Larry, and one of his arms, enoased in the flowing sleeve of his Chinese garment, went up in the en- deavor to remove his hat; for in colder Peking the natives adopt a headgear such as is seldom seen in the • ' more tropical regions of Southern China. Larry stood on his tiptoes, the bet- ter to see, such Was his great eager- ness. Lord Hackett's muscles were set for action. and he drew a long breath, such as a man naturally takes ere plunging into the melee. It was not needed. Larry came down on his heels again —Larry, who seemed to have been the recipient of a shock that rendered him absolutely speechless, so that at first he could only turn and motion toward Plympton and then point at the guide. Finally, in a hoarse whisper, he ejaculated : "Glorious ! Good news ! It is Kai Wang himself 1" The secret was out. For reasons best known to himself their old friend of Canton had desired to keep his identity secret, and perhaps might have continued to do so much longer, only for the sagacity of Larry, who saw suspicious actions back of his demeanor. What his reasons really were for de- siring to thus hide his light under a bushel none of them might ever know. Undoubtedly Kat Wang had good and sufficient cause for doing so, since' he was not the kind of a man to at- tempt such things through some petty prejudice or a desire for dramatic sur- prises. In all probability, it was political In its nature. He had been under the dis- pleasure of the authorities of late, and must needs exercise a care as to how he walked, unless he meant to have his queue cut off so short that his head would go with It. Presently all of them were wringing his hands In an enthusiastic manner that made the old fellow's eyes sparkle with keenest pleasure. 1 le explained so far as to tell them ' .v he had left a double, an under - illy, as it were, to run his Canton business. and play the part of Kai Wang. while he journeyed to the capi- tal. O1 course, he had come in disguise, so that no mien might know of his iden- tity ; for, while all Chinamen look pretty much alike to foreigners' eyes, they possess distinguishing traits among themselves. Larry was overjoyed. He believed success was about to perch upon their standard after. all. This coming of Kai Wang was a Cxod-send, not one of the kind he ruenu- Metered, either, but a genuine favor from on high. Such an acquisition doubled their re- sources. At the same time it removed the one weak spot in their ranks. Treachery could not Harm them now. Besides, this action on the part of tete other spoke volumes for his devotion to the interests of Dr. Jack, who seemed to have hypnotized the maker of hea- then gods, so that the influence still. remained, even after the cause had been removed. Larry could not stop to analyze the whole subject, but he was sure it con- tained much of encouragement for their cause. Hence he rejoiced. Deep down in his heart he believed Kai Wang must leave received addition- al information concerning the myster- ious prisoner in the palace, and was urged to come on In order to have a hand in his rescue. Larry would have been delighted could he have been given five minutes' private conversation with the maker of idols. It would have done much toward re- lieving his doubts and fears. Under the circumstances, however, this was not to be thought of, Kai Wang was with them, and this must suffice. His coming meant a tower of strength to their desperate cause. Who knew the devious walks of the Forbidden City better than he-, and who, besides Kai Wang, could take 'them be- yond the walls, even though wide- awake sentries stood touching elbows upon the ramparts? So Larry's heart beat high with new hopes, and his courage surged upward in mighty bounds. He even allowed himself to Indulge In rash dreams for the moment, and fancied he could see Avis in the loving arms of one who was, as it were, re- surrected from the dead, for, indeed, the person whom misfortune incarcer- ated in a Chinese prison might well consider himself as good as dead. This was only transitory—then Larry resolutely thrust all such visions out of his head and gave heed to the condi- tion that confronted them. Their guide considered it worth his while to go over their disguises one by one, adding a little here, and arrang- ing a garment so that it might appear more in harmony with the style of dress worn by those whom they might meet beyond the walls. I•Ie must restrain his exuberance and act the part assigned him. Who could blame him if his thoughts tvandered back enviously to the occa- sion in Canton when he rode in such style from Kai Wang's abode to the foreign quarter at Shamien, the obse- quious crowds bowing and salaaming on all sides, as though he were a prince of the royal blood and carried the peacock feather of authority. That was an event he could never forget, although its companion picture, when he was fleeing through the streets in the guise of a native priest, must have aroused emotions of a dif- ferent order. Everything being now in evidence, there seemed to be no reason why an immediate advance should not be made. Larry sought the side of his cousin, perhaps with the vague idea that his presence might give her additional courage; but Avis had summoned her reserve stock of nerve to the fore, and was in no need of assistance in any guise. Indeed, when the supreme test came, and they were compelled to face dan- ger, perhaps death, she might even be in a position to sustain Larry with brave words of hope and courage. It had happened on a previous occa- sion, years before, and there was no reason to believe her nature had under- gone any radical change in the time that had elapsed. When the massive gates in the walls of the Purple City were closed, and the sentries stood thickly upon the walls above the moats, it would seems utterly impossible for anyone to enter or leave the place without the knowledge and permission of those faithful guardians, unless they possessed wings, and were able to soar above the domes and min- arets of palace and pagoda. There was one route, however. over which the authorities had no control. Kai Wang managed it for his exclu- sive benefit. Perhaps in times past it had allowed the entrance of such an illustrious pil- grim as the great Li Hung Chang him- self, desirous of a secret interview with the prisoner -emperor. If so, then the same Li Hung Chang had his eyes bandaged, like all the rest, for this was a rule that could not be broken, Larry knew what was coming -Lar- ry, who had been through. the mill be- fore—and he warned his friends with regard to what they might expect, so that neither Plympton nor Avis. were surprised when the guide blandly gave notice that the time had come to press a soft bandage over the' eyes of each. They had passed through a portion of the native quarter and entered a mo- dest native dwelling that reared its thatched roof in the shadow of the wall surrounding the inclostire, 131sndfolded, they took holdof one another's hand, and allowed Kai Wang to lead the way. Lord Beckett knew readily enough that they were passing through some sort' of underground passage, and he smiled at the idea of the authorities he. sieving they could keep strangers be- yond the limits of their mystic. city. Presently they stumhted up some stairs, and again felt the refreshing • d4 NAPKIN NOVELTY. Tommy—Could yer lend mother a serviette please, Mrs, Jones, 'cos we've got perticlar company eomin' to tea? Mrs, J. (who hasn't the faintest idea what a serviette is)—Tell yer ma I'm very sorry, but I've sent it down to the tinker's to have a new handle put on it. night air as their bandages were dis- carded, while Kai Wang solemnly de- clared "Excellencies, you are now within the walls of the royal Forbidden City." CHAPTER XXVIII. The information was just what they expected, still it thrilled them to hear it. When the Rubicon has been crossed, when their boats or bridges have been burned behind them, men are apt to feel a brief sensation of awe at the very desperate task to which they have pledged their fortunes and their lives, and then comes a. stern resolution to conquer or fall. They had defied the edict, of the Chi- nese authorities that no foreigner should, set foot within the territory covered by these walls. Thus far had they come. Presently they would see. As to whether they might add the third chapter to Alexander's laconic message, and conquer, it remained to be proven. If an earnest prayer from a woman's trusting heart could have any influence upon the status of affairs, their chances were good. Kai. Wang took advantage of this last opportunity to impress several things upon their notice. These were points that were bound to have a distinct bearing upon the game that called for their attention. Then he spoke of weapons. He would be sorry if they were brought. to a point where armed resis- tance must be shown, knowing what a stir such an event was apt to make in the royal neighborhood, but their pre- vious experience had been a lesson that must warn them to omit no means that might add to the success .01 their venture. The showing, was all right. Lord Rackett had seen to this, with the result that both himself and his comrades were literally walking arsen- als. - When Kai Wang saw the martial dis- play his eyes almost popped out of his head, and he held up both hands in dismay at the possible slaughter that must follow any attempt to interfere with their purpose in the Forbidden City. All the same, he was secretly pleased, for his sympathies ran not in the line of those ferocious Black Flags and other fighters from various parts of the empire between Tonglting and Mongolia, Kansuh and the sea, who had been brought to Pelting in order to guard the imperial city against domes- tic, rather than foreign*foes. It appears to be one of the tenets of Chinese belief that battles are won chiefly by noise and the exhibition of monstrous ugly demons along the fir- ing line. True, thewar with Japan knocked a little sense into some of these Chinese, and there has been a great improve- ment since in. the personnel of their army. At the same time the old reliance In the efficiency of the ugly demons Is still rampant throughout their civil institutions, and maintains a firm hold vlupnees. on the soldiers from the interior pro - Thus many of those whose duties took them to Peking to guard the palaces of royalty had brought their convictions with them, and it may be readily assumed that, were a foreigner allowed a chance to snap his camera within the confln.es of the Sacred City, he would secure some amazing pic- tures, illustrating Chinese ideas of what a doughty, warrior should look like in order to strike terror to the hearts of his enemies. Toward the general run of these chaps, Lord Hackett felt only con- tempt. Their ancient methods of fight- ing were hardly in line with modern quick -firing guns; and, should fortune throw them into a contest with the. heathen he would have but little doubt. tis to the issue. There was one class, however, of whom he stood In some awe, or, ra- thee, for whom he entertained a fair share of respect. These were the peculiar, tall,' muscu- lar uscular mountaineers from the far South- the men who wore no queue, their thick black hair being bunched at the back of their heads under lite odd cov- ering of rice -straw thatch., and who had become famous as the Black Flags when Chinese Gorden, of Khartoum fame, ,led the imperial forces against them in the Gaping rebellion. These were the natural fighters of the whole empire—the men who, living amid the mountain crags, imbibed the spirit of liberty from the clear air of those lofty retreats, and refused to be slaves, The French In Tonguing could not conquer them; and other foreign na- tions will, in time to come, have an Opportunity to test their. mettle in com- parisor? with Afghan tribes or natives of the Philippines. . (To be continued), 4++++++++++++++,++ —9'++ I About the farm -t ++++++++++++++++++++++ POINTS IN BARLEY HARVEST, In harvesting barley the importance of securing the crop in high-class con- dition is seldom appreciated. Only a few growers seem to realize that a little damage to the grain just before cutting, or while in shock, will reduce the grade several points and thus exclude it from the grade desired by maleters. This re- sults in a reduction of front 5 to 15 cents per bushel, an amount too large to lose through carelessness or neglect. In many instances farmers have ac- quired the habit of cutting their barley before it is thoroughly ripe—that is, on the green order. This, of course, eat- ables thein to cure their crop before there is any danger of discoloration by mois- ture, but such barley is not easily con- verted into malt and it must, therefore. be sold for feed only. The best barley must have a plump berry, With a well-developed germ, and be in first-class condition as to germin- ating power. It .is, therefore, import- ant that barley be allowed to mature thoroughly before it is cut. Next, the crop must be handled, carefully after the grain has been cut. In most instances the crop is cut with the self -binder and the shocks must be well made and very carefully capped, to prevent injury from heavy rains or even from heavy dews. Both are injurious. The dew tends to bleach the barley, while excessive rains injure its germinating power. The bar- ley should not remain in the open field any longer than necessary,. As soon as it is thoroughly dried out, it should be carefully stacked, so that the moisture front the outside cannot get at the heads. The common practice cf threshing from the shock should be abandoned, a5 there are so many chances of the crop being injured. When stacked, the barley should remain until it has gone through the sweating process, then it should be threshed and marketed, if the price is right; if not, properly stored. Concerning the grade of barley de- sired by brewers a moister says: "The difference in the market value of malt- ing barley and feed barley is usually from '5 to 15 cents per bushel. It is just as easy to raise the malting grade if the care noted above is given and a large per cent: will be of sufficient value to receive the highest price. "A,farmer may have a grain that looks well to him, but on testiing it the moister finds it to be lacking in germinating power. This makes it unfit for malting purposes, and, tlerefore,•it is classed as feed barley and sells on the market for that purpose. All barley failing to give about 95 per cent. germinating power must be classed as feed barley. I would respectfully call the attention of farm- ers to the facts given above and urge them to do their part in securing their crop in the best possible condition, as it means higher price to the grower and much more satisfactory results to the consumer." HARVESTING OATS. The cutting should begin before the oats are perfectly ripe. The grain will be better and in case of delay, on ac- count of the weather or bother with ma- chinery, a little more time will be given. to get the grain cut before it is seriously damaged from getting overripe. The oats are usually left in the field until threshed. One of the essential things is to have then well shocked. If poorly shocked, the rain may cause a great deal of damage. A good shock, when settled, will turn ttie rain well, and the water will not penetrate so deep- ly. For speed in shocking, system should be practiced in gathering up the sheaves. The shock should be placed e little ways from the end of the wind- row, and the nearest sheaves should he picked up .first, so as to have them out of the way. A. good shock can be -made of eight sheaves and one or two hud- ders. The first four sheaves should be set down two at a time, so as to form something like a square. Two sheaves will then be placed each side and one at each, end. No counting will be required to determine the number of sheaves, for when the shock is completed, it win con- tain the required number. Press the heads together and cover with at least one well -broken hudder. The head or grain part of the hudder should be turn- ed in the direction that strong winds are most likely to come from as tele heads of tate sheaf will settle closely 'o the shock and it will not be blown off so easily. In case of a big rain the shock should not be torn apart to dry, for the sheaves cannot be made into a solid shock again,. -on account of the shapeless mold of the sheaves from being in the other shock. Should they get another good soaking, before the shock is settled, they would be worse off than if let alone 'n the first place. Two men should not work together when shocking, for nei- ther can tell just how the other is set- ting his sheaves, and usually less pains will be taken. FARM NOTES. Farmers know that the first prelimin- ary to raising good crops is to keep down the insect pests. If we have to buy feed for our stock then we should not need to buy fertiliz- er for our land, and we buy fertilizer for our land we should be able to feed our stock from the production of that land. Modern machinery has changed the world's ways. You cannot afford to do without machinery, yet is is expensive. assisommts Mother's Ear A WORO OR AebTHtrk'e SARI WHIrN NURIIIMQ AN /IT PANT, ANO U. THS MONTHS THAT COM% aipolrw T$Ar rams, 800TT'$ EMULS;ON ournomsra THR swarm,* Aso Bou TNrnUeTATIHNQr QootRhIAt 4VO�O CHID. fl�nd for scam A ' . 'Toronto .tom,+' a.rw ah drums, Now Is The Time To insure your health by using CEYLON GREEN TEA In place of the adulterated teas of Japan. Sold only in sealed lead packets, at 40c, 50c and 600 per M. At all grocers. Highest Award. St. Louis, 1904. Therefore, decide on what you are go- ing to do; get the needed machinery +o do it with; then do you all you can with that machinery. Do not get a dozen kinds and only use each a little. Aside from stable manure, which is probably the best of all manures, there is little other used except commercial fertilizers, But there is within reach of many farmers a good fertilizer which can be had for the hauling. The ferti- lizer I speak of is none other than the mud or silt deposited in the beds of our rivers and creeks. This sediment is the cream of the surrounding country brought down by the rains and the con- tinual wearing of the earth" surface by. the elements. The Now Zealand laws regarding the spread of noxious Weeds seem rather severe, but the results so far are said to be excellent. Three of the most troii- blesomo kinds, which in that country are the blackberry, sweet briar and this- tle, are placed on the blacklist, and land- -holdersthroughout the colony are re- quired to clear their lands. Roads must l:*t cleared up to one half their width, and town -or public lands must .also ne attended to by the proper authorities. The penalties for neglect range from $2.50 to $100. Another section of the law relates to about .one dozen other trou- blesome weeds, mostly imported from abroad in impure grass seed. SALT FOR DAIRY COWS. Extensive tests and Investigations have been made by the Wisconsin ex- periment station for the purpose of de- termining the advisability of adding salt to the ration of dairy cows. As a result of these trials, it is recommended that dairy cows in Winconsin be given at least one ounce of salt per day. Ex- ceptionally heavy milkers will require more than this. The uniform results obtained with all cows employed in these trials indicate beyond question that in Wisconsin and in other regions similarly located, salt in addition to that obtained in the food Is absolutely essential to the continued health of a dairy cow, while producing milk. It is evident, moreover, that the amount of salt which must be supplied directly will vary greatly in different lo- calities, it being more at high elevation and at places remote from the sea. FEARLESS SWIMMERS. The Natives of Hawaii Are at Home in the Nater. In the water the Hawaiians are abso- lutely fearless. As soon as they can walk, little babies are taken to bathe in the sea, and in a very short, time they are able to swim like porpoises. The author of "Hawaiian Yesterdays" gives a reminiscence of the courage of the na- tives: Our party had arrived in Hilo Bay, and we were all seated upon the plat form of a big double canoe, paddling ashore from the schooner which lay out io the harbor. A throng of natives lined the beach; waiting to welcome their returning teachers. Just as we weuo ;entering the surf that rolled upon the sandy shore, through some accident the canoe sud- denly filled and sank, leaving us all silting half -submerged in the shallow water. With a loud roar of "Auwe!" (011 and Alas!) the assembled crowd rushed as one man into the waves and bore us safely to land. On one occasion about the same date, a coasting vessel was upset in a violent squall between the islands of Hawaii Maui. Although the nearest land was twenty miles distant, the native crew and passengers boldly struck out to swim ashore; and several of them did come safe to land after a night and day in the deep. Among the survivors of the wreck was a poor woman who for several hours swam with her husband upon her back; but the poor man died of cold and fa- tigue, and had to be abandoned at last before the coast was reached. POPULARITY. Parson Snapper—Drunk again, Dan! Dan—I can't help it, passon. The Yolks wuli arst me to 'av a drink, an' I dunt loilce to offend 'em by sayin' no. Parson Snapper—That's all nonsense). They don't ask me." Dan—Mebe not, but you ain't so pop - ler as me. CRIME WE CAN'T CONQUER INSIDE THE PRSON WALLS IS NO PREVENTIVE. Some of the Most Daring Crines Are Planned and Hatched There. If, armed with an order from the Bootle Office, you walk as a writer di'l recently, through the workshops of a great convict prison, you notice • with surprise that in a large room, such, for instance, as the tailors' shop, there are only two or three warders to look utter some fifty or sixty convicts, says Lon- don Answers. Now, as all are aware, the rule of a convict prison is absolute silence. The men may, on occasion, speak to the warders, and they may chat with lite chaplains, but among themselvu; they must not converse. One warder, how- ever, watchful as he may be, cannot possibly keep his eye upon twenty or thirty men at once, and the result is that the lull of silence is more honored in the breach than the observance. Besides, old "lags" invariably have learnt bow to talk without moving their lips, and consequently they constantly converse among themselves without fear. 1t is a fact, as any old convict will tell you if you gain his confidence that some of THE MOST DARING CRIMES are planned and hatched in prison. To give one instance in point. The murder of a notorious "fence" in White- chapel by the burglar Seaman, who was nanged for the crime, was planned by that man in the Southern convict es- tablishment in which he served five years. Quite recently, no longer ago than November last, a case came to light of n robbery planned in prison. Upon a man charged at the Mansion House with stealing watches in Fenchurch Street was found a letter written by a "pal" doing time in Pentonville, and, smuggled out by one of the discharges. In it oc- curs the following significant passage: "What price —'s• window in Fen Court, City, the jeweller's? It would not Y� be a bad night's jqb for two amateurs Have a peep round—" THIEVES "HONOR." For cool impudence the following ac- count of a prison crime will take a good deal of beating. Under the guise of a solicitor's clerk, a criminal, who had served many sentences, but was tempor- arily at liberty, obtained admission to Holloway Gaol to see a prisoner accused of luggage stealing. The too trustful thief told the sham clerk where the. plunder was hidden, whereupon the lat- ter went off, and at once laid hands on and disposed of the stolen goods, leaving his victim to regret his confidence at leisure. Later on, when arrested, the swind ler was found to have done the same trick many times before. But he put his nose into the lions' den once too often,: and received a long and well -merited sentence of hard labor. Prison crime has even its amusing ,side. Ten men confined in the local gaol. at Neudorfe in Hungary were found by: their gaoler one morning all the worse: for liquor; but how they got it no one could tell. Next day the case was the same, but it was not for a week that it! was discovered that they had made a hole in the flooring of their prison, and. tunnelled into an adjoining wine -mer- chant's cellar, where they had consumed more than ONE HUNDRED GALLONS OF WINE. Still more comic was an occurrence at Bathurst, New Brunswick. A youth named Ththodeou was convicted of sev- eral burglaries and confined in the local gaol. But the burglaries still continued, and the whole town was aroused. Every possible means was used to discover the culprit, but in vain. At last one man bought a bloodhound, and after watching for several nights succeeded in getting on the track of the marauder. Imagine his amazement when the fugi- tive made straight for the gaol, and was caught getting into it over a wall! It was Thibadeau himself! This enter- prising follower of Jack Sheppard had discovered a means of getting out, and had been making raids nightly. His plunder was found carefully hidden tins der the floor of his cell. L 1. hitbElI0II A It1'l'E I>It'1'Vai,' IN IIOt;Aus. City Ph sioiati—Haven't I told you thatyou tnust come In r net so late? office how's, aria Patient'—Yes, but Ws the dog's fault, sir. fie didn't bite inc at rho right thee